/dʒetˈtare la ˈspuɲɲa/ lit. ‘to throw the sponge’
Italian idiom, everyday. To give up and admit defeat.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Gettare la spugna
?
Everyday Italian, fine anywhere, and as common in sports reports as in talk about diets and exams. It conjugates normally: “ho gettato la spugna”, “non gettare la spugna!”. The negative command is probably the form you’ll hear most, as encouragement.
Also said buttare la spugna
Gettare la spugna
in real sentences
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Sto gettando la spugna.
I’m throwing in the towel.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by Jesse, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Non gettare la spugna.
Don’t throw in the towel.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Gettare la spugna
come from?
Both English and Italian Wiktionary define it simply as giving up. The picture comes from boxing: a fighter’s corner threw the sponge they used on him into the ring to stop the fight. English had “throw up the sponge” in 19th-century boxing slang before the towel took over; no source says when Italian picked it up, and French “jeter l’éponge” uses the same sponge.
Mistakes learners make with Gettare la spugna
Translating the English towel. “Gettare l’asciugamano” isn’t what Italians say; the sponge is.
Other Italian idioms like Gettare la spugna
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