手抓緊
這一組是核心畫面的字面版本：真的有一隻手，真的收緊了。內部的差別在於時間——是一路抓著、突然伸手抓、還是抓住自己身上的某個地方。
hold tightly · verb · C1
To hold something tightly in your hand or arms because you do not want to drop it or lose it.
緊握
這個拼法底下其實是2個不同的字，意思沒有關係， 只是長得一樣。下面分開列出來。跳到 hold tightly · small group, clutch of eggs
1
clutch
n, v核心畫面
One way to picture it: fingers snapping shut into a ball, wrapping something inside the fist. Two things matter — it's tight, not casual; and it's driven by fear of losing the thing. That nervous edge is what separates clutch from a calm hold or carry.
五根手指突然收攏成一團，把東西整個包進拳頭裡。重點有兩個——一是「緊」，手是用力的，不是輕輕拿著；二是「怕失去」，會…更多收起
五根手指突然收攏成一團，把東西整個包進拳頭裡。重點有兩個——一是「緊」，手是用力的，不是輕輕拿著；二是「怕失去」，會這樣抓的人心裡有一個念頭：這東西不能掉、不能被拿走。所以 clutch 幾乎總是帶著一點緊張感，跟從容的 hold 或 carry 完全不同調。From the word’s history
Old English clyċċan 'to clutch, clench', from a Proto-Germanic root *klu- meaning 'to ball up' — the ball-up motion is exactly a hand closing, so the word never drifted far from the picture it started with.
payload 記的古英語 clyċċan 是「抓住、握緊」，再往上是原始日耳曼語的 *klu-「捲成一團」。這個「捲成一團」的動作正好就是手掌合起來的樣子，所以這個字的形和義從頭到尾沒有走遠——今天不管是抓皮包、抓胸口、還是車裡那個把動力抓住再放開的裝置，全都還是同一隻收攏的手。
payload 提供的動詞詞源說明（Old English clyċċan < Proto-Germanic *klu-「捲成一團」，Wiktionary 條目）
Three branches
被抓住的感覺與控制
手離開了實體，抓的對象變成人心和人生。核心畫面裡那個「被包在拳頭裡、掙不開」的感覺整個保留下來——被抓住的一方使不上力，這才是重點。
grip, control over someone · noun · C1
The power or control that someone has over another person, especially when it is hard to get away from them.
魔掌
車子裡那隻抓與放的手
機械把這個動作做成了零件：離合器就是一隻鋼鐵的手，把引擎的轉動抓住交給輪子，鬆開時再放掉。命名邏輯完全是核心畫面的直譯——會抓、也會放。
clutch pedal, car · noun · C1
The pedal you press with your foot in a car so you can change gear, or the part inside the car that this pedal controls.
離合器
A second word, same spelling
2
clutch
n核心畫面
One way to picture it: the batch of eggs under a hen, laid and hatched together. A different word that happens to be spelled the same — the point here is 'a small set that came at once', not .
母雞身下那一窩蛋，一次孵、一起破殼。這是一個跟「用手抓」完全無關的 clutch——拼法一樣純屬巧合。它的重點是「同…更多收起
母雞身下那一窩蛋，一次孵、一起破殼。這是一個跟「用手抓」完全無關的 clutch——拼法一樣純屬巧合。它的重點是「同時出現的一小批」：不是隨便湊在一起的幾個，而是同一次、同一窩出來的。From the word’s history
This noun is a variant of cletch, from Middle English cleken 'to hatch', probably from Old Norse klekja 'to hatch' — a separate line from Old English clyċċan 'to grip', which only later collided with it in spelling.
payload 記的是這個名詞來自 cletch 的變體，源頭是中古英語 cleken「孵化」，可能再上溯到古諾爾斯語 klekja「孵化」。也就是說它從一開始講的就是孵這件事，跟古英語 clyċċan「握緊」是兩條各走各的線；今天說 a clutch of awards（一小批獎項）時，背後的畫面其實還是那一窩同時孵出來的蛋，不是一把抓在手裡。
payload 提供的名詞詞源說明（variant of cletch < Middle English cleken < Old Norse klekja「孵化」，Wiktionary 條目）
原始詞典資料17 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
clutchverb詞源 1/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
- 1
To seize, as though with claws.
- to clutch power
- A man may set the poles together in his head, and clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp.
- 2
To grip or grasp tightly.
- She clutched her purse tightly and walked nervously into the building.
- Not that I haue the power to clutch my hand,
- 3
video-gamesTo win despite being the only remaining player on one's team, against several opponents.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:clutch.
- 4
video-gamesTo unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity.
clutchnoun詞源 1/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
- 1
The claw of a predatory animal or bird.
- 2
A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil.
- I muſt have great leiſure, and little care of my ſelf, if I ever more come near the Clutches of ſuch a Giant, who ſeems to write with a Beetle inſtead of a Pen; […]
- Should when he pleaſes, and on whom he will / Wage war, with any or with no pretence / Of provocation, giv'n or wrong ſuſtained, / And force the beggarly laſt doit, by means / That his own humour dictates, from the clutch / Of poverty, that thus he may procure / His thouſands weary of penurious life / A ſplendid opportunity to die?
- 3
automotivetransportvehiclesA device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car.
- 4
automotivetransportvehiclesThe pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels.
- 5
Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle.
- 6
businessclothingfashionA fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).)
- 7
A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle.
- The clutch which I had made to save myself in falling had torn away from this chin-band and let the lower jaw drop on the breast, but little else was disturbed, and there was Colonel John Mohune resting as he had been laid out a century ago.
- 8
An important or critical situation.
- to come in clutch
- And when it came to the clutch, Johnny Mize, who was washed up five years ago, would crack out a pinch double, or Mickey Mantle, who is not yet ready for the big leagues, would slam out a home run.
另外 1 個記錄的用法
- 9
A difficult maneuver.
clutchadj詞源 1/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
- 1
Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations.
- NC State made the most of their overtime possession scoring a touchdown on some very clutch plays.
- I start with his most obvious characteristic: he was clutch. He is Mr. Clutch. In the last chapter I mentioned that Bernie Williams was clutch, which was a valid assessment, but nobody on the Yankees was as clutch as Jeter was.
clutchnoun詞源 2/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
- 1
A brood of chickens or a sitting of bird, monotreme or reptile eggs; a sitting.
- For instance, baby chicks influence their mother’s behaviour by giving high piercing cheeps when they are lost or cold. This usually has the immediate effect of summoning the mother, who leads the chick back to the main clutch.
- 2
A group or bunch (of people or things).
- No longer would Britons routinely blame the national government when things went wrong. Instead they would demand action from a new clutch of elected mayors, police commissioners and the like.
- And, so, although the Zeros knocked out four dive bombers (two of them permanently and two forced to abort), the other eleven made it to a position above Shōkaku, which pulled a neat evasive turn that sent the first clutch of thousand-pound bombs into the sea.
clutchverb詞源 2/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/
- 1
To hatch.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。