Writer George Ade used it in a book called "Artie." He wrote, "I saw I was up against it."
Sometimes a business that is up against it will have to throw in the towel . This means to accept defeat or surrender.
Throwing in the towel may mean that a company will have to declare bankruptcy.
The company will have to take legal steps to let people know it has no money to pay its debts.
Word expert Charles Funk says an eighteen seventy-four publication called the Slang Dictionary explains throwing in the towel.
It says the words probably come from the sport of boxing, or prizefighting.
The book says the saying began because a competitor's face was cleaned with a cloth towel or other material.
When a boxer's towel was thrown, it meant he was admitting defeat.
Most businesses do not throw in the towel. They just re-organize so they can compete better.
