"Throw in the towel" nghĩa là gì?

Ném cái khăn xuống giường, thành con voi :) Photo courtesy Leonora Enking.

'Throw in the towel' có từ throw là ném hay vứt một cái gì xuống đất, và towel là cái khăn. Thành ngữ này xuất xứ từ giới đấu quyền Anh. Khi thấy một võ sĩ rõ ràng sắp thua, huấn luyện viên của anh ta sẽ ném cái khăn xuống đất để chấp nhận là anh ta bị đánh bại (= throw in the sponge; toss in the sponge, throw up one's hands, Việt Nam -> tung khăn trắng, giơ tay hàng).

Ví dụ
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.
The union was forced to throw in the towel and settle their bitter dispute with the company.
For example, some station owners, particularly those with few properties, might throw in the towel if profit margins continue to decline.
And Martha Burk, who heads the 6 million-member NCWO, isn't about to throw in the towel on this high-stakes game.

I thought General Jones would make a good candidate (ứng cử viên). But after a long campaign and poor election results he threw in the towel (chấp nhận thất bại). His political career is over.

Mary is sick of (quá chán ngấy) everything in the house smelling like cigars. It’s in the furniture (bàn ghế) and in her clothes. She wants her husband to smoke (hút thuốc) outside but he says it’s his house too and he refuses to throw in the towel (không chịu thua).

Huyền Trang
VOA

Tags: phrase

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