1748. Smollett, Rod. Random, ch. xviii. Strap, after having received three falls on the hard stones, gave out, and allowed the blacksmith to be the better man. 1760–1. Smollett, L. Greaves, vol. II., ch. viii. By this time the doctor had given out, and allowed the brewer to be the better man. 1819. Moore, Tom Crib, p. 25. Poor Georgy gave in. 1837. Lytton, Ernest Maltravers, bk. IV., ch. ix. Your time is up ... you have had your swing, and a long one it seems to have been—you must now give in. 1847. Robb, Squatter Life, p. 99. Jest about then both on our pusses gin out. 1850. Buffum, Six Months in the Gold Mines, p. 73. After working three days with the machine, the earth we had been washing began to give out. 1852. Dickens, Bleak House, ch. xxiv., p. 217. I am surprised to hear a man of your energy talk of giving in. To give away, verb. phr. (American).—To betray or expose inadvertently; to blow upon (q.v.): to peach (q.v. for synonyms). Also to give dead away. Largely used in combination: e.g., give-away = an exposure; give-away cue = an underhand revelation of secrets. 1883. F. M. Crawford, Doctor Claudius, ch. vi., p. 100. It always amused him to see sanguine people angry. They looked so uncomfortable, and gave themselves away so recklessly. 1886. A. Lang, Longman’s Mag., VII., 321. I know not whether the American phrase, to give a person away, to give yourself away, meaning to reveal your own or another’s secret, is of provincial English origin. Did it cross over with the Pilgrim Fathers in the May Flower, or is it a recent bit of slang? ‘Who giveth this woman away?’ asked the rural American parson in the wedding service. ‘I could,’ came the voice of a young man from the gallery, ‘but I’d never be so mean.’ 1888. Detroit Free Press, Aug. Careful what we say, for it will give us dead away. 1889. Answers, 20 Apr., p. 326. My closely cropped hair, however, gave me away. 1892. R. L. Stevenson and L. Osbourne, The Wrecker, p. 195. For the sake of the joke I’ll give myself away. To give one best, verb. phr. (schoolboys’).—1. To acknowledge one’s inferiority, a defeat. Also (thieves’) to leave, to cut (q.v.). 1887. Horsley, Jottings from Jail. But after a time I gave him best (left him), because he used to want to bite my ear (borrow) too often. To give the collar, verb. phr. (American).—To seize; to arrest; to collar (q.v.). For synonyms, see Nab. To give the bullet (sack, bag, kick-out, pike, road, etc.), verb. phr. (common).—To discharge from an employ. Give us a rest! phr. (American).—Cease talking! An injunction upon a bore. To give nature a fillip, verb. phr. (old).—To indulge in wine or women.—B. E. (1690). To give way, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To permit the sexual embrace: by women only.