throw in the sponge

Idioms  

1. Also, throw in the towel. Give up, acknowledge defeat, as in I can't move this rock; I'm throwing in the sponge, or Bill decided to throw in the towel and resign from his job. This idiom comes from boxing, where formerly a fighter (or his second) conceded defeat by throwing the sponge or towel used to wipe his face into the ring. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

“Washington has again taken the initiative to escalate the fight in the hope that Beijing will throw in the sponge as early as possible. But Beijing regards the trade war as an unavoidable trial by fire, from which the country will emerge stronger.”

From Reuters

“When we reach the point of using DDT, parathion, chlordane, and other new insecticides as routine control measures in the same way we have used the inorganic chemicals in the past, entomologists interested in biological control may as well throw in the sponge,” he says.

From Literature

So why not throw in the sponge on Laetrile?

From Time Magazine Archive

Congress was ready this week to throw in the sponge.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ever since Depression II, Street sages have guessed at Pierce's losses, wondered when he would start dismantling offices or throw in the sponge.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• capitulate
• communicate
• concede
• give in
• give up
• grant
• hand over
• relinquish
• renounce
• sign over
• transfer
• waive