WHITE LINEN

Towel Expressions

by Lifeboat Admin , Aug 21, 2014

Towels are such a part of our everyday lives that they tend to continually show up in our expressions. Check out the history of these towel idioms.

Towel off

This expression means to dry off with a towel, especially after a bath or shower. People often say they are towelling off their hair after washing it.

A Wet Towel

When a person hangs all over everyone and quickly brings down the mood in the room, they are considered a wet towel.

Throw in the towel

The most common towel idiom in the English language is ‘Throw in the towel.’ Although people now use the expression to mean giving something up, the phrase was originally a boxing term from the early 20^th century which meant an acknowledgement of defeat. When a boxer was losing a fight and wanted to stop the beating, he would actually throw a towel in the ring to indicate he was conceding the fight. Before people threw in the towel in boxing, they threw in the sponge, a common accessory found ringside as far back as the 1700s.

Towel Quotes

Along the same lines, here is a collection of quotes featuring the subject of towels, some of which include throwing in the towel.

The comedians:

I’ve gained a few pounds around the middle. The only lower-body garments I own that still fit me comfortably are towels.

- Dave Barry 

Do you know what they call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered ‘a houseguest’ you are wrong because I have just described my kids.

- Erma Bombeck

Thank you... motion sensor hand towel machine. You never work, so I just end up looking like I'm waving hello to a wall robot.

- Jimmy Fallon

The actors:

What's monotonous about being an actor and often makes me want to throw in the towel or drive a car off a bridge is the auditioning - the waiting around.

- Chris Messina

This morning, I went to wipe my hands on a tea towel, and while I was using it, it seemed like it felt a bit light. I unfolded it and realized my daughter had cut little bits out of it to make frocks for her dolls!

- Emma Thompson

Misc.: 

I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.

- Kobe Bryant, basketball star

You know, there is always times where you feel discouraged and things coming against you, but I don't know if I ever wanted to throw in the towel.

- Joel Osteen, preacher, evangelist and writer

The best you can sometimes do is learn to take a breath, count to ten and simply accept that try as you might, no, your husband will never, ever learn not to drop a wet towel on the bed. That acceptance too counts as resolving a fight.f

.

Bath Towels NZ, Hand Towels, ,luxury Bath Towels NZ,white linen supply, white commercial towels, towel for motel, towel for hotel, towel for hospital ---------------------------------------------------- carpet cleaning hong kong        
.