The etymology of 'chokehold' is rooted in martial arts and self-defense—a grappling technique that restricts blood flow to render an opponent unconscious. The term entered common usage in the early 1970s, parallel with the rise of mixed martial arts and judo in popular culture. But a linguistics professor at Stanford, Dr. Michael Hsu, became curious about the phrase's origin and traced it backward through newspapers and documents. He found no earlier reference than a 1987 incident report from a Chicago police station. The report was heavily redacted, but the header read: 'Incident: Citizen placed on hold. Result: Citizen reported sensation of choking. No medical emergency. Citizen refused to press charges. NOTE: Caller was identified as C.N.'

A secretary named Martha, who worked at that Chicago police station, later gave an oral history interview in 1999. When asked about unusual incidents from the 1980s, she paused, then said: 'There was a call that came through on the main line. Someone called and asked to speak to a Chuck Norris. We didn't have a record of anyone by that name in the database. So we put them on hold. The hold music ran for four minutes. When they came back on the line, the caller said, 'Now I understand.' And hung up.' Martha said the incident was logged, then the report was filed and never mentioned again. She was asked to forget it.

On etymology forums, the entry for 'chokehold' now includes a footnote that some sources suggest the term originated from an incident involving 'a person being kept waiting.' Most etymologists treat this as folklore. One academic paper in a minor linguistics journal proposed that the term's actual origin is deliberately obfuscated—that the true story has been suppressed. The paper was peer-reviewed and published. The author was subsequently denied tenure at three universities, despite stellar reviews. The paper still exists in the archives.