Definitions
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. [Cant or Slang] to give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; -- from a custom of the prize ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat; -- now,
throw in the towel is more common, and has the same origin and meaning.
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bookball96 to throw in the towel Oct 24, 2012
ruzuzu "to give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; -- from a custom of the prize ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat; -- now, throw in the towel is more common, and has the same origin and meaning."
--Cent. Dict. Oct 24, 2012