throw down

Meaning

Verb

• To cause something one is holding to drop, often forcefully.
• To destroy or demolish.
• to produce or perform (something) admirably or forcefully.
• to fight, incite to fight, or approach with the intent to fight; to make a stand.
• to accomplish or produce something in a grand, respectable, or successful manner; to "represent".
• to make an individual contribution to a group effort (e.g. money pool, collaborative record album)
• to drink a large amount of beer quickly.

Origin

• US, popularized 1990s in street culture, from idiom throw down the gauntlet, used in sense “to fight, to incite a fight, to make a stand”.
• Sense of “accomplish something respectable” evolved from sense “to make a stand, to exhibit, to demonstrate (in a challenging way)” inherent in the fighting sense.
• Sense of “to make a contribution” likely influenced by sense “to make a stand”, as in “are you in?”, “will you stand up and contribute?”