strike one's flag

present singular third person strikes one's flag · participle present striking one's flag · past struck one's flag · participle past struck one's flag · archaic participle past rare stricken one's flag · alternative strike one's colors · alternative strike the colors · alternative strike the flag

1. especiallygovernmentTo take down one's national or other representative flag in order to indicate surrender.

   The enemy having yielded to our mercy and struck their flag, we ceased our fire, and thinking the worst over and done, I watched where Belvedere conned the ship with voice and gesture.

   1921, Jeffery Farnol, chapter 12, in Martin Conisby's Vengeance

   2 more examples

   At length, having lost her fore and main-top-masts, and her mizzen-mast having been shot away to the deck, . . . the English frigate was reduced to the last extremity. Captain Cardan ordered his signal quarter-master to strike the flag.

   1850, Herman Melville, chapter 74, in White Jacket

   An Austro-Prussian army of 120.000 men . . . is of itself so imposing a spectacle that one is tempted to believe the little Kingdom of Denmark will strike its flag without firing a shot.

   1864 February 7, “Very Latest Per Edinburgh”, in New York Times, retrieved 02 Jul 2015

2. broadlyidiomaticTo yield, give up, or surrender.

   The point of this exercise wouldn't be to cause one side of the argument to see that the other is correct and strike their flag.

   2014, David Berreby, “What If We Start Talking About Race Like We Talk About Religion?”, in bigthink.com, retrieved 02 Jul 2015

   Synonyms: give in, strike the tent, throw in the sponge, throw in the towel, throw up the sponge, wave the white flag