JLPT N2Idioms

匙を投げる

Meaning
見込みがないと判断してあきらめる
Explanation
「匙を投げる」 means to give up after judging that there is no longer any hope. It originally comes from the sense of a doctor abandoning treatment. It is not an emotional action like c4 「怒って物を投げ捨てる」 (angrily throwing things away); the meaning of giving up is central.
Original Japanese explanation

「匙を投げる」は、もう見込みがないと判断してあきらめることです。もとは医者が治療を断念する意から来ています。c4「怒って物を投げ捨てる」のような感情的な動作ではなく、断念の意味が中心です。

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