throw in the towel
To quit; to give upTo quit; to give up.
Meaning
1 senses(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.
das Handtuch werfen, den Hut draufhauen, die Flinte ins Korn werfen
подня́ть бе́лый флагpodnjátʹ bélyj flag, опусти́ть ру́киopustítʹ rúki, сда́тьсяsdátʹsja
- give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat
Examples
28 sentencesI'm ready to throw in the towel.
Я готовий визнати свою поразку. — deniko
ruЯ готов признать себя побеждённым. — marafon
Maybe it's time to throw in the towel.
Може бути, час визнати свою поразку. — deniko
ruМожет, самое время признать поражение. — Kar1na
Don't throw in the towel.
Не здавайся. — deniko
ruНе сдавайся. — sharptoothed
deGib nicht auf. — enteka
We're not ready to throw in the towel.
ruМы не готовы признать поражение. — Smoky
We're not ready to throw in the towel yet.
ruМы пока не готовы признать поражение. — marafon
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From the traditional signal from a boxer's support staff of throwing such an item into a bFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
throws in the towel, throwing in the towel, threw in the towel, thrown in the towel| Base form | throw in the towel · to throw in the towel |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | throws in the towel |
| Present participle | throwing in the towel |
| Past simple | threw in the towel |
| Past participle | thrown in the towel |
irregular · Lesson
Synonyms
11 synonyms- give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat:drop outgive upfall by the waysidedrop by the waysidethrow inquitchuck up the sponge
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.