Italian expression of the day: 'Gettare la spugna'

There are some Italian phrases that translate directly from English - like essere al settimo cielo, or be in seventh heaven.

There are others - for instance, acqua in bocca - that you'll need someone to explain to have any hope of understanding.

And then there are those that almost directly translate, but are just far enough removed that a literal translation renders them completely nonsensical.

For most Anglophones, gettare la spugna (hear it pronounced here) - literally, 'to throw the sponge' - falls into the last category. 

Can you guess its meaning?

It doesn't mean to throw your toys out of the pram, or have a tantrum. Nor does it mean to cut loose a tight-fisted friend who's 'sponging' off you.

It means to throw in the towel - in others words, to give up, or to admit defeat.

Mi sa che è ora di gettare la spugna.
I think it’s time to throw in the towel.

Ha fatto di tutto per riparare il sistema, ma alla fine ha gettato la spugna e se n’è andata.
She did all she could to fix the system, but in the end she gave up and left.

Basta! Non sono capace di fare questo disegno! Getto la spugna!
That's enough. I can't draw this picture. I give up.

In Italian, as in English, the idiom comes from boxing, and can be traced back to the late 19th century. 

When a boxer was clearly defeated, someone in their corner would throw the towel or sponge that had been used to wipe down the fighter's sweaty head and torso into the ring.

This would bring an immediate end to the match and prevent the contestant from getting more punishment than was necessary.

The practice of throwing a towel (or sponge) into the ring is rare in today's boxing, as a wave from a coach is usually enough to catch the referee's attention.

For those of us who aren't boxers with coaches, meanwhile, it's up to us to know when to gettare la spugna.

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