Wiktionary

throw in the towel

English

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Etymology

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From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a boxing ring to indicate that the contestant cannot continue the match and is forfeiting to the opponent.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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throw in the towel (third-person singular simple present throws in the towel, present participle throwing in the towel, simple past threw in the towel, past participle thrown in the towel)

  1. (idiomatic) To quit; to give up.
    If their restaurant can't get business even on Mother's Day, it might be time for them to throw in the towel.
    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:
      In short, there was so much space and so many things to shove things behind that most people, called on to find a silver cow-creamer there, would have said “Oh, what's the use?” and thrown in the towel.
    • 2024 July 10, Christian Wolmar, “The future of the rail franchises is certainly uncertain”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 50:
      One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express.

Synonyms

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Translations

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See also

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