Throw the towel in

Meaning

Give up, especially to avoid further punishment when facing certain defeat.

Examples

AltaVista tried to hang on and compete with Google, but eventually they just couldn’t compete and were forced to throw the towel in.

Where did it originate?

USA, 1910s. The allusion is to a boxing match where throwing the towel in indicates a concession

Where is it used?

Worldwide.

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About the Author

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Throw the towel in