throw in the towel
Meaning: to give up; to concede defeat.
Language: English
Literally: to throw in the towel
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Boxing, but the towel is a replacement. The original idiom was "throw up the sponge," attested from the 1860s and referring to the sponge a second used to wipe down a fighter between rounds; tossing it into the ring was the corner's visible signal that their man was finished. As towels displaced sponges as standard corner equipment, the wording followed, and "throw in the towel" is documented from around the 1910s. What made either gesture necessary is worth noting: a beaten fighter often could not or would not concede for himself, so the authority to stop the fight rested with the corner, and the thrown towel was how they exercised it — a public admission of defeat made on behalf of someone in no condition to make it.
Equivalents in other languages
- Swedish: Att kasta yxan i sjön — literally: To throw the axe in the lake
- Czech: Házet flintu do žita — literally: To throw the rifle into the rye
- Icelandic: Að leggja árar í bát — literally: To lay the oars in the boat
- French: Jeter l'éponge — literally: To throw the sponge
More idioms — Daily Life
- the real McCoy — the genuine article; something authentic and high quality.
- get a kick out of something — to enjoy something greatly; to find something amusing.
- run it up the flagpole — to test an idea; to present something for approval or feedback.
- To steal someone's thunder — To take credit for another's idea or upstage their big moment.
- Die Kirche im Dorf lassen — To keep things in proportion and not get carried away.
- Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof — Life is not all fun and games; expect hardship.
More English idioms
- keep your chin up — to remain optimistic; to stay courageous during difficulty.
- pitter-patter of little feet — the sound of children running; anticipation of having babies.
- be in someone's shoes — to understand someone's perspective; to experience their situation.
- cry over spilled milk — to regret something past; useless to grieve over unchangeable events.
- white as a sheet — extremely pale; shocked or frightened.
- go pear-shaped — to go wrong; to develop badly; to become misshapen.
From our compliments & insults
- Eres un sol — You're a lovely, warm-hearted person.
- Eres más bueno que el pan — You are a genuinely good, kind soul.
- Sei in gamba — You're sharp, capable, and on the ball.