The holds here are wrestling holds and that's where the phrase originates. There are sets of rules for each of the various styles of wrestling. Prior to the formation of rules, wrestling was a free-form affair. There was no need to mention any such phrase as no holds barred, as that was taken for granted. It wasn't until after the sport became regulated that bouts where those rules didn't apply were billed as such.
The earliest reference I can find to ‘no holds barred’ is from Manitoba Daily Free Press, February 1892: "Wm. Gibbs, the Kansas man, and Dennis Gallacher, of Buffalo, engaged in a wrestling match at the opera house here tonight. Gibbs was strangled into insensibility and may die. The conditions of the match were best two in three falls Greco-Roman style; no holds barred."
Last but not least…
The earliest reference I can find to ‘no holds barred’ is from Manitoba Daily Free Press, February 1892: "Wm. Gibbs, the Kansas man, and Dennis Gallacher, of Buffalo, engaged in a wrestling match at the opera house here tonight. Gibbs was strangled into insensibility and may die. The conditions of the match were best two in three falls Greco-Roman style; no holds barred."
Last but not least…
2 comments:
Junkyard Dog ain't shit, Roddy Piper is gay, Cap'n Lou was no captain at all, Mean Gene is God.
Which came first: No Holds Barred or Over The Top?
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