fold one's tent

== English == === Pronunciation === === Verb === fold one's tent (third-person singular simple present folds one's tent, present participle folding one's tent, simple past and past participle folded one's tent) (idiomatic) To withdraw, especially in a discreet manner; to disengage; to quit. 1844, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Day is Done" (proem to The Waif), lines 41-44, And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. ==== Synonyms ==== chicken out, cut and run, stand down