举白旗认输
Throw in the towel
Hello, and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Feifei.
大家好，欢迎来到BBC地道英语，我是菲菲。
And I’m Neil.
我是尼尔。
Hey, do you know what, Feifei? I've had enough!
菲菲，你知道吗？我真的是受够了！
You've had enough? Enough of what?
你受够了？你受够什么了？
Trying to do all my washing.
洗衣服。
Really? Is it that hard?
是吗？很难吗？
It is. I just can't keep up with all the clothes I have to wash, dry and iron.
当然。我就是受不了要把所有衣服都给洗了、晒干、熨烫。
It doesn't matter how much washing I do, I keep running out of clean clothes.
不管洗多少衣服，我总是没有干净衣服穿。
Yes I can see!
是的，我看出来了。
Haven't you been wearing that shirt all week?
你这件衬衣穿了一周了吧？
So, what are you going to do?
所以你要干什么呢？
I don't know. I think I'll just throw in the towel.
我不知道，我想我要“throw in the towel”。
Washing just one towel won't help – you can't wear that to work.
只洗一条毛巾是没有用的——你不能穿着毛巾上班呀。
That's not what I meant.
我不是这个意思。
'To throw in the towel' is a saying that means 'to admit defeat'.
“To throw in the towel”是指“投降认输”。
The phrase comes from boxing.
这个短语来自拳击运动。
If a boxer is being hit too much, and is losing the fight, sometimes his coach will throw a towel into the boxing ring to signal the fight is over. He's been defeated.
如果一名拳击手挨打过多要输了，有时他的教练会扔一条毛巾到拳击台上，表示停止比赛，他也就输了比赛。
Got it! So, it means you've given up. You can't do it.
知道了！所以你的意思是你要放弃了，你做不到了。
And for you, it means no clean clothes!
对你而言，也就意味着你没有干净衣服穿了。
Let's hear some more examples of this phrase, shall we?
我们一起听几个短语吧，好吗？
I've tried my best but this job is just too hard – I'm afraid I'm going to have to throw in the towel and quit.
我已经尽了全力了，不过这份工作太难了——我恐怕要认输退出了。
I know the race is tough, but don't throw in the towel, keep going and you might actually win!
我知道这场比赛很难，但是不要放弃，加油，你一定能赢！
I've been trying to learn Korean for years but I'm not making any progress so I guess it's time to throw in the towel.
我已经学了好几年韩语了，但没任何进展，我猜我是要放弃了。
This is The English We Speak, and Neil's mentioned he's 'throwing in the towel' which means he's 'admitting defeat' – giving up on doing his washing.
这里BBC地道英语 ，刚刚尼尔说他要“throwing in the towel”，这表示他要放弃，再也不想干了。
You can't cope can you Neil?
你搞不定了，是吗，尼尔？
I have tried. There's just too much to do.
我试了，但真的太多了。
Maybe you've got too many clothes.
或许你要洗的衣服太多了。
But if you're not going to wash them, what are you going to wear?
但是如果你不洗的话，你穿什么呢？
I've still got my nightclub gear I used to wear as a student – will that do?
我要穿上学时穿的夜总会服装——可以吗？
I think you'd be better off just wearing a towel, Neil!
我觉只披着毛巾会更好，尼尔！
Thanks for the fashion advice.
感谢你的建议，太时髦了。
I think my best option is just to take everything to the launderette.
我想最好的选择就是把衣服送到洗衣店。
Good idea. See you.
好主意。再见。
Bye!
再见！