/ʒəte l‿epɔ̃ʒ/ lit. ‘to throw in the sponge’
French idiom, everyday. To give up and admit defeat.
Draft Not yet checked by a native French speaker.
How do people use Jeter l’éponge
?
Everyday French, as at home in a newspaper headline as in a chat about a failed diet. It works for people, teams and companies: “le candidat a jeté l’éponge”, “je jette l’éponge”. In Quebec you’ll also hear “jeter la serviette”, the English towel.
Also said jeter la serviette
Jeter l’éponge
in real sentences
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Il a jeté l’éponge.
He threw in the towel.
Tatoeba, sentence by U2FS, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Je suis prêt à jeter l’éponge.
I’m ready to throw in the towel.
Tatoeba, sentence by Scorpionvenin14, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Jeter l’éponge
come from?
It comes from boxing, which French Wiktionary explains: a trainer could throw the sponge he used to cool his boxer’s face into the ring to stop the fight for him. English has both versions too: English Wiktionary lists “throw up the sponge” as a synonym of “throw in the towel”, while French mostly kept the sponge. Wiktionary gives no date for the first French use.
Mistakes learners make with Jeter l’éponge
Spelling the verb. Jeter doubles its t before a silent e: “je jette l’éponge”, “tu jettes l’éponge”, but “nous jetons” and “vous jetez” keep one.
Other French idioms like Jeter l’éponge
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?
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