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Agree to provide drier for free, so ending the fight (5,2,3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

throw in the towel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'agree' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I can't see how one could define the other.

'drier for free so ending the fight' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'drier' could be 'towel' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'towel' is located in the answer.
'ending' could be 'win' (win is a kind of ending) and 'win' is present in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to provide' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for throw in the towel that I've seen before include "Give oneself up" , "surrender after trading blows?" , "admit defeat" , "damp condition suggests one might?" , "Make a concession" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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