Mental Floss

Why Do We Say “Throw Down the Gauntlet”?

The phrase‘s history traces back to knights, duels, and a battle for honor.
ByCaLea Johnson|
If you see a knight wearing a gauntlet, pray he keeps it on.
If you see a knight wearing a gauntlet, pray he keeps it on. | FluxFactory/GettyImages

The phrase throw down the gauntlet isn’t reserved for life-or-death challenges today. However, someone who did this in the 16th century wasn‘t playing around. To understand why knights were tossing gloves around, we need to trace the origins of the idiom back hundreds of years.

The earliest known use of the word gauntlet (borrowed from the French term gantelet) was in the Middle English period, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It was around 1420 when John Lydgate, a poet and prior of Hatfield Regis, wrote it in his work.

Gauntlets were armored gloves originally designed for battle, and they eventually became the key component of a loaded, symbolic gesture. History says that the phrase throw down the gauntlet refers to someone—most likely a medieval knight—throwing down a gauntlet at an opponent’s feet, indicating they wanted to duel. The person on the receiving end was usually expected to take on the challenge by “taking up the gauntlet,” otherwise they’d be dishonored.    

When steel armor lost popularity, the meaning of the word gauntlet changed. The name came to describe any heavy, durable glove with a protective cuff that covered the wrists. Gauntlet challenges ended when duels fell out of favor in Europe and the U.S. in the late 19th century. Now, throw down the gauntlet doesn’t always refer to physical altercations. It can apply to any situation where someone presents a challenge or shows they’re ready for a fight—even an intellectual one.

The medieval term for a protective glove also appears in the less-common phrase run the gauntlet. This derives from the English word gantlope, which originated with the Swedish gatlopp (a combination of gata, meaning “road,” and lop, meaning “course”). It referred to a military punishment where a person had to walk between two rows of armed men who swung at them with clubs or other weapons. Like throw down the gauntlet, run the gauntlet is related to a challenge or trial a person has to endure.

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