A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and garrotte) is a weapon, most often referring to a handheld ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle a person.
A garrote can be made out of many different materials, including ropes, cable ties, fishing lines, nylon, guitar strings, telephone cord or piano wire.
A stick may be used to tighten the garrote; the Spanish word actually refers to the stick itself, so it is a pars pro toto where the eponymous component may actually be absent. In Spanish, the term may also refer to a rope and stick used to constrict a limb as a torture device.
Since World War II, the garrote has been regularly employed as a weapon by soldiers as a silent means of eliminating sentries and other enemy personnel. Instruction in the use of purpose-built and improvised garrottes is included in the training of many elite military units and special forces. A typical military garrote consists of two wooden handles attached to a length of flexible wire; the wire is looped over a sentry's head and pulled taut in one motion. Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion have used a particular type of double-loop garrote (referred to as la loupe), where a double coil of rope or cord is dropped around a victim's neck and then pulled taut. Even if the victim pulls on one of the coils, he only succeeds in tightening the other.
An artificial season
Covered by summer rain
Losing all my reason
Cause there's nothing left to blame
Shadows paint the sidewalk
A living picture in a frame
See the sea of people
All their faces look the same
So I sat down for awhile
Forcing a smile
In a state of self-denial
Is it worthwhile
Sell my pity for a dime
Yeah, Just one dime
Sell my pity for a dime
Yeah, Just one dime
Plain talk can be the easy way
Signs of losing my faith
Losing my faith
Plain talk can be the easy way
Signs of losing my faith
Losing my faith
So I sat down for awhile
Yeah, Forcing a smile
In a state of self-denial
Yeah, Is it worthwhile
Sell my pity for a dime
Yeah, Just one dime
Sell my pity for a dime
Yeah, Just one dime
So I sat down for awhile
Yeah, Forcing a smile
In a state of self-denial
Yeah, Is it worthwhile
Sell my pity for a dime
Yeah, Just one dime
Sell my pity for a dime