throw up the sponge
English
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
throw up the sponge
Where it comes from
From a custom of the boxing ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat.
verb throws up the sponge · throwing up the sponge · threw up the sponge · thrown up the sponge
- To give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; to throw in the towel. But he was too brave a man to throw up the sponge to fate, and had work to do yet.
Talk about this word "throw up the sponge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/throw%20up%20the%20sponge. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. throw up the sponge. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20up%20the%20sponge "throw up the sponge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20up%20the%20sponge.Cite this
@misc{throw_up_the_sponge_2026,
title = {throw up the sponge},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/throw%20up%20the%20sponge},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
