white flag, show the

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, hang out or hoist the white flag . Surrender, yield, as in Our opponents held all the cards tonight, so we showed the white flag and left early . This expression alludes to the white flag indicating a surrender in battle, a custom apparently dating from Roman times and adopted as an international symbol of surrender or truce. [Late 1600s]

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April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

white flag white flight

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