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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

throw up one's hands en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To raise both hands in the air in an exasperated manner.
  2. (idiomatic, intransitive) To cease an attempt because it is perceived as doomed.
    • I wanted to throw up my hands and say, "Thanks. See ya." But I couldn't walk away. 2001, James Patterson, Cradle and All, Warner Books, →ISBN, page 58:
    • So to us, the question isn't just "Does Vista suck?" but "Does Vista suck enough that businesses of any size should simply throw up their hands and migrate over to something else?" 2007 August 22, Oliver Rist, “Does Vista suck?”, in InfoWorld:
    • I see it warn't a bit of use to try to go ahead—I'd got to throw up my hands. 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
threw up one's hands Tense=Past lexicographic
throws up one's hands Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
thrown up one's hands Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
throwing up one's hands Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Synonyms

give up (to cease an attempt) · throw in the towel (to cease an attempt)

Translations (5)

uk розво́дити рука́ми (raise both hands in the air) · cmn 攤手 /摊手 (raise both hands in the air) · uk розвести́ рука́ми (raise both hands in the air) · fi nostaa kädet ilmaan (raise both hands in the air) · cmn 摊手 (raise both hands in the air)