to throw in the towel, to give up
O lutador jogou a toalha.
The fighter threw in the towel.
The expression comes straight from boxing, from the time the sport was professionalising in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When a fighter could no longer safely continue, someone in his corner would throw a towel (in older days a sponge) into the ring; the referee then stopped the bout and awarded the win to the opponent.
Sources: Escreva.ai, Estado de Minas.
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