Idiom: Throw in the Towel

give up

Examples

• He threw in the towel.

Key rules

• Throw in the towel means give up or stop trying
• It is informal and comes from boxing, where a towel signalled surrender
• It takes a past form "threw in" in narratives
• The idiom needs "the" before "towel"

Common mistakes

• He throws in the towel yesterday → He threw in the towel yesterday
• He threw in a towel → He threw in the towel