English [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
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 )
( 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 .
Synonyms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
(idiomatic) to quit; to give up
Catalan: llançar la tovallola , tirar la tovallola
Czech: hodit flintu do žita (cs)
Danish: kaste håndklædet i ringen , smide håndklædet i ringen (da)
Dutch: de handdoek in de ring werpen (nl)
Estonian: alla andma
Finnish: heittää pyyhe kehään
French: jeter l’éponge (fr) , jeter la serviette (fr) , jeter le manche après la cognée (fr)
German: das Handtuch werfen (de) , die Flinte ins Korn werfen (de)
Hungarian: bedobja a törülközőt
Icelandic: leggja árar í bát , springa á limminu , henda inn handklæðinu
Indonesian: melempar handuk
Irish: do hata a chaitheamh leis , an tuáille a chaitheamh isteach , do lámh a chaitheamh i bpaca
Italian: gettare la spugna , gettare le armi
Japanese: 匙を投げる ( さじをなげる, saji o nageru ) , お手上げ ( おてあげ, oteage )
Norwegian: kaste inn håndkledet (no)
Polish: rozkładać ręce impf , rozłożyć ręce pf
Portuguese: jogar a toalha
Russian: подня́ть бе́лый флаг pf ( podnjátʹ bélyj flag ) , опусти́ть ру́ки (ru) pf ( opustítʹ rúki ) , сда́ться (ru) pf ( sdátʹsja ) , призна́ть своё пораже́ние ( priznátʹ svojó poražénije ) , призна́ть себя́ побежде́нным ( priznátʹ sebjá pobeždénnym ) , сложи́ть ору́жие ( složítʹ orúžije )
Serbo-Croatian: baciti pušku u šaš
Slovak: hadzať flintu do žita
Slovene: vreči puško v koruzo
Spanish: tirar la toalla (es) , botar la toalla
Swedish: kasta in handduken (sv) , kasta yxan i sjön (sv) ( literally “ throw the axe into the lake ” )
Turkish: havlu atmak (tr)
See also [ edit ]