throw in the towel

tirar la toalla

• After three failed attempts, he finally threw in the towel.
• After struggling with the project for weeks, she decided to throw in the towel.
• When the negotiations broke down, the team leader threw in the towel.

This idiom is used in both formal and informal contexts to signify that someone has decided to give up or quit a task or challenge. It is common in both speech and writing and can be applied to a variety of situations, from personal struggles to professional issues.

A common mistake is using an incorrect verb form, such as saying 'threw in the towels' when trying to refer to the past. The correct form is to keep 'towel' singular. Additionally, some speakers might attempt to use 'drop the towel', which is not an expression in English.

• a rule of thumb
  regla general, regla empírica
• the bottom line
  lo más importante, lo esencial
• more often than not
  más a menudo que no, la mayoría de las veces
• in the pipeline
  en proceso, en preparación