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Kane159 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Question about an idiom

Hi,

are you familiar with the song "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M? If so, there's one verse that strikes me as strange:

Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts.

Don't throw your hand.

What does it mean to "throw your hand"? I did some searching on the Internet and came across the idiom "throw in your hand", which means "to stop doing something because you know you cannot succeed". So, can we leave out the "in" in this idiom? Is my thinking correct?

Thank you in advance!
  

Top answer

kane159 Don't throw your hand. In this context, it means "Don't give up", "Don't surrunder", "Don't abandon hope", "All is not lost". Either the lyricist needed one less word for the number of notes in the melody, or he didn't know that the expression is really "throw in your hand" or "throw in the towel".

— CalifJim

  • kane159 Don't throw your hand.
  • In this context, it means "Don't give up", "Don't surrunder", "Don't abandon hope", "All is not lost".
  • Either the lyricist needed one less word for the number of notes in the melody, or he didn't know that the expression is really "throw in your hand" or "throw in the towel".
  • CJ
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2 Answers
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kane159Don't throw your hand.
In this context, it means "Don't give up", "Don't surrunder", "Don't abandon hope", "All is not lost". Either the lyricist needed one less word for the number of notes in the melody, or he didn't know that the expression is really "throw in your hand" or "throw in the towel".

CJ
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It's a poker reference, don't throw the hand you've been dealt, even if it seems terrible, life is rarely what you expect in those dark times
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