The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 plus 3 plus 5 letter word THROW IN THE TOWEL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
T
H
R
O
W
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T
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E
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L
More clues leading to the result THROW IN THE TOWEL
- One in Wentworth hotel about to admit defeat
- Stop trying to add cloth
- With a bit of luck hitherto, we won’t easily concede
- Quit – what draper might do when you spend lots?
- Worthwhile to net bucks and withdraw from fight
- Concede when low, with three not out
- Give up project with silly title when receiving nothing
- Interject and set out how Vettel, stripped of victory, is to concede defeat
- Concede new hotel worth it having been rebuilt
- Low teeth broken after set-piece — give up
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.