Noun : a clutch of books; a whole clutch of dancers.    From Dictionary.com. 

Keen-eyed officers detect the mutton-bones which tell of unauthorised ovicide, and "clutches" of geese and chickens vanish as if by magic.    From Wordnik.com.  [Disturbed Ireland Being the Letters Written During the Winter of 1880-81.] Reference

He never arrived in time to rescue Caroline from "clutches"; nor did he even marry her.    From Wordnik.com.  [Tales of the Jazz Age] Reference

Larger frames: Stick to medium-sized accessories such as clutches and totes in bright colours.    From Wordnik.com.  [Stuff.co.nz - Stuff] Reference

Typical repairs for parts such as clutches and brakes are usually not coming with the service contracts.    From Wordnik.com.  [xml's Blinklist.com] Reference

A woman clutches her napkin to her breast and gasps.    From Wordnik.com.  [Lick My Blahniks, she said] Reference

But wait till Dickens gets you in his clutches again.    From Wordnik.com.  [All I Want For Christmas...] Reference

These brands could break free from Monsanto's clutches.    From Wordnik.com.  [Is Your Favorite Ice Cream Made With Monsanto's Artificial Hormones?] Reference

My mother clutches onto Lee and sobs as the minutes pass.    From Wordnik.com.  [Agitated Birds] Reference

At the same time her hand reaches out and clutches Ben's arm.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Book of Punishments] Reference

She escapes him, but falls into the clutches of even greater villains.    From Wordnik.com.  [Ten of the best wicked uncles in literature] Reference

"You must let the material escape the clutches of the script," the director argues.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Holy Mythmaker] Reference

A woman named Saad Jaber Abadi clutches a picture of her brother, Atta, to her chest.    From Wordnik.com.  [Committee Of The Missing] Reference

She wears blue pajamas and clutches her stomach, not knowing why it hurts all the time.    From Wordnik.com.  [A Social 'Neutron Bomb'] Reference

He clutches his "" injury '' with one hand, reaches beseechingly to the ref with the other.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Armchair Critic] Reference

Immigrants are often political independents beyond the clutches of traditional party controls.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Campaign Trail Crosses The Border] Reference

She gurgles, clutches her neck and collapses to the ground as the girl yanks the scissors out.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Celebrity] Reference

      Wolfgang shook his fist in anger at how easily Michael freed Yuki form his clutches.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Impossible Man - Ep.6: Step into the Squared Circle] Reference

The woman with the sometimes-strawberry hair who's held him in her clutches (at least onscreen)?.    From Wordnik.com.  [COMIC-CON 2010 POSTSCRIPT: Is this the new 'Avengers' team -- or the ol' E Street Band? [PHOTOS]] Reference

(See the video above for more on features like electric-start systems and blade-brake clutches.).    From Wordnik.com.  [Tip of the Day: Use fresh gas in your outdoor power gear] Reference

She is facing away from him, bent with the weight of something she clutches tightly to her chest.    From Wordnik.com.  [Why Did They Do It?] Reference

My sisters skipped over, having extricated themselves from the sclerotic clutches of their escorts.    From Wordnik.com.  [Bootstraps] Reference

It also prevailed in its goal to keep AT&T Broadband out of the clutches of archnemesis AOL Time Warner.    From Wordnik.com.  [Cable's A-Team] Reference

Come Oscar night, a select few will leave the Kodak Theater with a famous gold statuette in their clutches.    From Wordnik.com.  [Goody, Goody!] Reference

ELLIOTT: In all, the government plans to move 700 to 800 clutches of eggs by far the largest turtle nest relocation ever.    From Wordnik.com.  [Before They Hatch: Moving Sea Turtle Eggs From Gulf] Reference

I'm calling Sly Stallone and his number one box office The Expendables crew to save our souls from the clutches of Big Coal.    From Wordnik.com.  [Jeff Biggers: Big Coal "Expendables": Three Mile Island Firm to Build FutureGen 2.0? DOE Corruption?] Reference

I'm calling Sly Stallone and his number one box office "The Expendables" crew to save our souls from the clutches of Big Coal.    From Wordnik.com.  [Jeff Biggers: Big Coal "Expendables": Three Mile Island Firm to Build FutureGen 2.0? DOE Corruption?] Reference

 As the Hulk, I tore planes from the sky, smashed buildings to bits, saved Sarah from the evil clutches of Soviet evil-doers.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Impossible Division by Zero] Reference

The problems include substandard brakes, fuel systems and clutches -- flaws reportedly responsible for several injury accidents.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Secret Files] Reference

She has a grip like a clamp, and when she clutches Taylor's hand, or her hair, or her sleeve, there's no dislodging those fingers.    From Wordnik.com.  [A Novel Full Of Miracles] Reference

In "Austerlitz," W.G. Sebald performs a small but significant miracle: he wrests the Holocaust out of the clutches of stale cliche.    From Wordnik.com.  [Blending Fact With Fiction] Reference

He has not seen them since; now he clutches a picture of two granddaughters and tells us he hopes to get a visa to visit them soon.    From Wordnik.com.  [Letter From Kosovo] Reference

Much of the documentary shows in gripping detail the efforts to save Europe's treasures from Hitler 's clutches and the ravages of war.    From Wordnik.com.  [Art Lovers, Art Looters] Reference

To encourage the middle-class Muslim revolution, therefore, the West should help free Muslim economies from the clutches of state control.    From Wordnik.com.  [Economics Versus Extremism] Reference