To "throw in the towel" (as Susan points out here) comes from the world of boxing, when either the boxer or his cornerman decides that he’s had enough and tosses the towel in the ring to let the referee know that’s it. It’s his way of saying "No más," as Roberto Durán said when he was fighting "Sugar Ray" Leonard in 1980. We would look at it as saying "I give up," "I quit," or "I’ve had enough."
All this talk about boxing makes me think of Howard Cosell, sports announcer for ABC from the mid-’50’s until the mid-’80’s, when he was fired after his book, I Never Played The Game, was published. Howard once said "I’ve been called arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. And, of course, I am." Yes, he was all those things, but we liked him anyway. He was one of my birthday twins…
Linda runs Stream of Consciousness Saturday, and during Jasnuary also runs Just Jot It January.
Now a word about pastries and baked goods, baked with care by County Fair.
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
I’m glad you shared the meaning of the phrase…all I could think of is when in football the coach throws the flag to signal a challenge.
I think of you when it comes to blogging challenges, you are so good at keeping up with them and finding such fun things to write about! I remain impressed and congrats for making it through another January as a shining star!
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Howard Cosell was a real character and I enjoyed his style. Ali will always be a champion.
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I think the fans loved Howard because he was direct and said what they were thinking. Not sure the TV executives liked him, because he’d say things he didn’t like. I should read his memoir, “I Never Played The Game.” That was the final straw and what got him fired.
As for Ali, he was The Greatest. Just ask him, he’d tell you. 🤣 Then he’d get in the ring and prove it.
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I loved Howard cosell
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You’re not alone. You always knew he was going to tell you what he thought and not mince words about it.
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Ali was a real “boxer” I loved watching him ‘dance’. He made it look easy!
Howard’s kind of announcer wouldn’t/couldn’t be tolerated today. Honesty equals ‘hate speech’ now.
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I know, and that’s a shame, because the man had no hate in him whatsoever. He and Ali would throw shade at each other, but they had a lot of respect for each other. I thought he was an excellent announcer. Brash and opinionated? You bet. He did a commercial once on radio where he said “a lot of people call me controversial, and I say, so what?” I found myself agreeing with him more often than not. He wasn’t afraid to “go there.”
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Great use of the prompt, John
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Thanks, John!
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Great and I love the little clip of Muhammad Ali 🙂
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Glad you liked it! Ali was a real champion.
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Yes ‘THE GREATEST’ indeed ❤
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