What is the meaning and origin of the expression “to throw in the towel”?
(P. Pardhasaradhi Rao, Prakasham Dist.) When you throw in the towel what you are doing is giving up. You are quitting because you have decided that you can’t take it any more. Here are a few examples. *After running two miles of the marathon, Dilip decided to throw in the towel. *It’s been a real struggle for Jai, but he has refused to throw in the towel. *If you think I am going to throw in the towel, you had better think again. This is an expression that comes from the world of boxing. I understand that the trainers of boxers always carried a towel with them. After every round, they used this towel to wipe some of the sweat off the boxer. If during the fight they found that their boxer was getting beaten up badly, then the trainers took the responsibility of calling off the fight. In other words, they used to concede the fight. They did this by throwing the boxer’s towel into the ring. When the referee saw the towel being thrown in, he would immediately stop the fight. It was not ver
