taking a dive
Throwing the match
Taking a dive means deliberately losing a competition or fight, especially for money.
A boxer paid to lose takes a dive—falling as if knocked out when he wasn't.
The phrase extends to any situation where someone intentionally fails or underperforms: The senator accused the committee of taking a dive on the investigation.
Sometimes shortened to simply take a dive.
- sinkBasin with drain
- feignPretend to have
- playing possumFaking death defensively
- dropFall or release
- match fixingCorrupting athletic competitions deliberately
plunge · sandbagging · tanking · sham · self-sabotage · fall · charade · foul play · deception · simulation · flop · rigging · descend · ruse · going through the motions · pretense · tumble · submerge