| 词汇 | throw in the sponge |
| 释义 | Idiom throw in the towel and throw in the sponge Theme: STOP to quit (doing something). (Informal.)When John could stand no more of Mary's bad temper, he threw in the towel and left.Don't give up now! It's too soon to throw in the sponge. Slang throw in the towel and throw in the sponge; toss in the sponge Theme: QUIT tr. to quit; to give up. (From boxing where a towel or sponge thrown into the ring indicates that a boxer has given up.)I can tell when it's time to throw in the towel, and this is that time.The candidate who was exposed by the press as a former pickpocket tossed in the sponge at a tearful press conference. Idiom throw in the sponge informal to stop trying to do something because you know that you cannot succeed.Three of the original five candidates have now thrown in the towel. throw in the spongeTo give up on some endeavor; to quit or abandon something; to admit defeat or failure. I've been working on this book for over a year, and I'm getting nowhere with it. I think I'm ready to throw in the sponge. After trying their hand in the mobile market for just a few years, the company is already throwing in the sponge after finding very little success. throw in the spongeAlso, 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] throw in the ˈtowel/ˈsponge(informal) stop doing something because you know that you cannot succeed; admit defeat: It’s a bit early to throw in the towel — you’ve only just started the job.This idiom comes from boxing: throwing in the towel or sponge is a sign that a fighter accepts defeat. throw in the spongeverbSee throw in the towel throw in the sponge/towel, toTo acknowledge defeat; to give up. J. C. Hotten’s Slang Dictionary of 1860 explained that this term comes from prizefighting, where throwing up the sponge used to clean the contender’s face was a signal that the “mill,” or round, was concluded. However, Hotten got it wrong; the sponge (or later, towel) more often was thrown up as a signal of defeat, and it is in this sense that the expression was transferred to other enterprises. “If ever you are tempted to say . . . ‘I am beaten and I throw up the sponge,’ remember Paul’s wise exhortation,” wrote Alexander Maclaren (Philippians, 1909). Later up was changed to in, at least in North America. |
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