sponge
Preserved but no longer current.
"to throw up the SPONGE," to submit, to give over the struggle,—from the practice of throwing up the SPONGE used to cleanse a combatant’s face at a prize-fight, as a signal that the side on which that particular SPONGE has been used has had enough—that the SPONGE is no longer required.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “sponge” mean?
"to throw up the SPONGE," to submit, to give over the struggle,—from the practice of throwing up the SPONGE used to cleanse a combatant’s face at a prize-fight, as a signal that the side on which that particular SPONGE has been used has had enough—that the SPONGE is no longer required.
Is “sponge” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.