I said, with some pride, as the last sheaf was tossed on one side by the human-like grippers.
"Tales from the Veld"
Ernest Glanville
It was as though he could see her trying in vain to fasten the steel grippers of her soul into the heart and life of the man she loved.
"In the Heart of a Fool"
William Allen White
The essential feature of the design was the car's arrest by friction between its grippers and the rails so that the stopping action was gradual, not sudden as in the elevator safety.
"Elevator Systems of the Eiffel Tower, 1889"
Robert M. Vogel