to fold one's tent
- idiom
:
retirarse
- Rather than admit defeat in public, she chose to fold her tent and step away quietly.
Examples
-
After several failed attempts to negotiate, the company decided to fold its tent and abandon the deal.
-
Sometimes it's wiser to recognize a lost cause and simply fold your tent.
-
It's time to fold my tent and leave.
-
After the defeat, the team decided to fold their tent.
-
After several failed attempts to negotiate, the company decided to fold its tent and abandon the deal.
-
Rather than admit defeat in public, she chose to fold her tent and step away quietly.
-
Sometimes it's wiser to recognize a lost cause and simply fold your tent.
Synonyms
235
4.0
To move back from a place or plan to avoid danger
57
3.7
To move back to a safer place when facing danger
17
3.6
To leave a place quietly without being noticed
13
4.4
To move back from a place or activity to avoid danger and trouble
1
6.0
To leave a place quickly to avoid danger or trouble
Take down a tent when leaving or ending an event
To become quiet and avoid people when feeling stressed or afraid
Antonyms
How Withdrawn
773
3.1
466
2.8
235
4.0
162
3.4
- Informal
356
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal action of 'fold' + 'one's' + 'tent' (packing up a shelter) clearly evokes the idea of leaving or withdrawing, so a B1 learner who knows the words could infer the basic sense of departing. However, the idiomatic nuance — a discreet or reluctant retreat, often after difficulty or defeat — is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression partially but not wholly transparent.
Etymology
Fold one's tent comes from the image of campers or soldiers folding a tent and packing it up when they decide to leave a camp. So, folding the tent meant quietly going away, and the phrase now means 'to withdraw' or 'step back' from a situation.