A profound hold

[Tamara]

Hi

took a profound hold (on the public mind)
to maintain a profound hold
have a profound hold (on...)

Can you explain the meaning of the expression (a profound hold)?

P.S.
BNC:

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

Poor old bnc! It was only a suggestion.

Anyhow, this is A Townend:

A profound hold suggests to me a very tight control of someone or something. Profound in the sense of deep suggests fundamental, very strong. It is used in couplets like: a profound dislike, a profound love, a profound distaste.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Tamara]

Thank you, mister Townend :)

...Just to let you know that on my PC I (also) collect your corpus (exactly in the folder 'Alan Townend') – and regularly maintain it to keep it up-to-date. :)

This is the case.
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Alan]

Hi Tamara,

I'm really flattered but I hope my sometimes lackadaisical approach isn't leading you astray!

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms