throw down the gauntlet
English
Alternative forms
- throw down the gantlet
Etymology
From the late medieval custom symbolizing a challenge, in French tendre son gantelet. The English phrase dates to the 1540s (figurative use by the 18th century).
Verb
throw down the gauntlet
- To issue a challenge.
- 1730, Caleb d' Anvers (Nicholas Amhurst), The Craftsman, volume 7, page 91:
- We might as well dispute with Dimock on a Coronation Day, as argue with these Writers. They strut, vapour, throw down the Gauntlet, and defy us to take it up.
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Derived terms
- throw down, throw-down
Related terms
- take up the gauntlet
Translations
issue a challenge
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