to compress, press tight , especially the throat, to strangle, throttle, choke , ἄγχε μιν ἱμὰς ὑπὸ δειρήν (Iliad by Homer); τὸν Κέρβερον ἀπῇξας ἄγχων (Aristophanes Comicus): metaphorically of creditors, (Aristophanes Comicus); of a guilty conscience, τοῦτο ἄγχει (Demosthenes Orator) (ML)