nooses
Tightening rope circles
Nooses is the plural of noose, a loop of rope or cord with a knot that tightens when pulled, historically associated with execution by hanging.
The singular noose carries powerful symbolic weight in American culture, where it evokes lynching and racial terror; displaying one is widely understood as a threat or hate symbol.
Figuratively, a noose suggests entrapment or impending doom: I felt the noose tightening as my debts mounted.
Self-tightening binding
- loopCurve closing on itself
- lassoLooped rope for catching
- snareDevice for catching prey
- bowlineNon-slip loop knot
running knot · tightening · cinch · lariat · coil · cordage · binding · rigging
Execution hanging apparatus
- hangmanOne who kills condemned
- scaffoldTemporary elevated work structure
- lynchingExtrajudicial killing by mob
- ropeThick twisted fibers
gibbet · trapdoor · condemned · capital punishment · executioner · drop · knot · neck
Device for catching prey
- trapDevice for catching animals
- catchingAble to be transmitted
- wire loopCircular bent filament
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
game · hunting · deadfall · survival · bushcraft · rabbit snare · tension · trigger
Defense against induced criminality
- constraintLimiting condition or rule
- trapDevice for catching animals
- tighteningMaking less loose
- inescapableImpossible to avoid
burden · deadline · pressure · stranglehold · obligation · debt · consequences · closing in
slip knot
Self-tightening binding
bowline · running knot · tightening · cinch · lariat · coil · cordage · binding · rigging · knotwork
gallows
Execution hanging apparatus
- hangmanOne who kills condemned
- scaffoldTemporary elevated work structure
- lynchingExtrajudicial killing by mob
rope · gibbet · trapdoor · condemned · capital punishment · executioner · drop · knot · neck · strangling
snare
Device for catching prey
poaching · game · hunting · deadfall · survival · bushcraft · rabbit snare · tension · trigger · bait
entrapment
Defense against induced criminality
- constraintLimiting condition or rule
- trapDevice for catching animals
- tighteningMaking less loose
inescapable · burden · deadline · pressure · stranglehold · obligation · debt · consequences · closing in · suffocating
- Westernscowboys, western, outlaws, sheriffs, western novels
nooseslifelines
Vital sources of help
safety harnesses · life preservers · bolt cutters · keys · lockpicks
noosesolive branches
Emblems of truce
white flags · life rafts · second chances · pardons · broken chains
- hangman's nooseFatal strangling loop
- slip nooseKnot tightening when pulled