History Main / KnowWhenToFoldEm

* In ''Film/StarWarsTheLastJedi'', it's shown that [[spoiler:at some point following his passing, Yoda came to realize that the way the Jedi Order had been operating (e.g. it was too full of itself and believed itself to be the sole keeper of the Light Side of the Force), had become obsolete around the time it failed to stop the rise of Darth Sidious, and fully agrees with Luke that it's time for the Jedi to end]].

* How Wrestling/TheIronSheik won his WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/BobBacklund, trapping Backlund -- who came into the match with an ({{Kayfabe}}) injured back -- in his dreaded Camel Clutch and pulling severely. Backlund refused to submit, but, fearing for his well being, manager Arnold Skaaland threw a towel into the ring, asking the match be stopped. (This, of course, set up the Iron Shiek to lose his title to newcomer Wrestling/HulkHogan.)\\

Things came full circle in 1994 when Backlund -- having returned to the WWF as an embittered heel -- regained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/BretHart, after trapping him in his crossface chicken wing for several minutes, Hart refusing to submit and Hart's mother, Helen, throwing in the towel, convinced to do so by Hart's younger brother, Owen (who was, unknown to everybody, feigning concern). Days later, Backlund lost the title again ... and he didn't lose it [[Wrestling/KevinNash because someone threw in the towel]].

* In a filk titled Jirel of Joiry an Evil Overlord is told of Jirel's deeds and promptly decides "He who would rule does not squander his strength so I think we'll leave Joiry alone."

Taking this trope too far can lead to {{Dismotivation}} when they decide that since YouCantFightFate, why bother doing anything? The StrawNihilist THINKS he understands this trope, but in reality wouldn't even be sitting down at the table. The same is true of TheEeyore, who has already folded before the cards are even dealt.

* In TabletopGame/{{chess}}, there is resignation, or "I realize I'm going to lose no matter what I do at this point, so let's just end this now." This isn't ''mandatory'', but it's considered good etiquette over dragging out an impending defeat; at professional levels, resignations are far more common than playing all the way to checkmate.
* This is usually the closest thing to a victory as you can get against [[DeusEstMachina The God-Machine]] in ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent''. It never sees people as enemies (or really as anything but factors in an equation) and cannot fall for the SunkCostFallacy -- if you hinder its plans, it will simply give up whatever it was doing and find some way to achieve its goals without provoking your antagonism. [[PragmaticVillainy Fighting unnecessary battles is just a waste of resources]], and something as large-scale as the God-Machine has a ''lot'' of potential alternate paths for any given goal. If you somehow manage to convince it that you ''do'' need to be dealt with, [[RocksFallEveryoneDies well...]]

* In TabletopGame/{{mahjong}}, particularly the Japanese ''riichi'' variant, there is ''betaori'', a common strategy that revolves around abandoning all hope of winning a hand and just trying to avoid dealing into other players' hands until the round ends, which is a far less pleasant alternative to another player winning by self-pick (in which the reward points are taken from everyone else, not just one player), another player winning by taking a different player's discarded tile, or the round running out of tiles and a 3,000-point prize being split amongst everyone in ''tenpai'' (one more tile needed to win).

** Early in the [[SecondAmericanCivilWar Second American Revolution]], Governor Hiram Johnson of California attempts to pull a TeamSwitzerland by declaring California neutral. [[NeutralityBackfire This backfires]] as California instead descends into a MeleeATrois between the Red-aligned Army of San Francisco, the White-aligned US Pacific Fleet, and Johnson's own California National Guard. The bloody stalemate is broken in 1918 when Bill Haywood brings the Army of the Cascades (which is in far better shape than any of the Californian factions) into California. Johnson sees that his cause is hopeless and reluctantly allies himself with the Reds.

Compare YouWereTryingTooHard, which is about situations where folding somehow causes you to win the pot. See also ScrewThisImOuttaHere; VillainExitStageLeft; OptOut; ISurrenderSuckers; GracefulLoser; IWillFightNoMoreForever; RunOrDie; SwitchOutMove; SensingYouAreOutmatched; TacticalWithdrawal. Contrast SunkCostFallacy, which this trope tries to avoid, and SurrenderBackfire. Compare with DirtyCoward and contrast with RageQuit, which are more emotion-driven while Knowing when to Fold 'Em is strategically based, even though anyone who is willing to commit atrocities because he believes he has the upper hand and stands back because of biting off more than he could chew is a DirtyCoward by default. Also contrast with LeeroyJenkins, who is pretty much the antithesis of this trope, and AttackAttackAttack, where the character's {{determinat|or}}ion blinds them to when it is time to give up. Compare ''and'' contrast the DeterminedDefeatist, who is a {{ZigZagg|ingTrope}}ed example, having the attitude of this trope, but who will [[{{Determinator}} press on]] anyway. DetrimentalDetermination is what tends to happen when somebody ''doesn't'' know when to quit, even when they should for their own sake.

[[folder:Films - Animated]]

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]

* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

*** In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Loki subverts [[FinalBoss a certain other trope]] by choosing not to go for seconds on beatings and surrendering to the Avengers after losing his army. Considering [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWqGNITWIEc how fighting Hulk had gone,]] surrendering and [[INeedAFreakingDrink asking for a drink]] was the smart thing to do when Hulk was backed up by the rest of the group.

*** {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', [[spoiler:where he would stand up to Thanos no matter what, with a [[RedemptionEqualsDeath fatal result]]]].

*** One mook realizes that laying down his life for a bunch of weirdos with superpowers isn't worth it.
--->'''Mook:''' Honestly, I hate working here; ''they are so weird.'' (''[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere drops pistol and runs]]'')

--->'''Rhodes:''' You can ''breathe fire?!'' Okay... (''stands down and gets knocked out'')
** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'':

* Joe Buck does this with his dream of being a "hustler" in the final scene of ''Film/MidnightCowboy''. On the way to Miami, he disposes of his cowboy outfits and later admits to his friend Ratso that his experience in New York taught him that he was never cut out to be a man-whore (at least not a successful one), and resolves to find honest work as soon as they arrive.
* [[spoiler: Duncan and Charlie]] in ''Film/MysteryTeam'' [[spoiler: when they decide that they're in over their heads and that they need to grow up and stop acting like kids]].

'''Faith: (in agreement)''' [[CasualDangerDialog "The motion carries."]]

Compare YouWereTryingTooHard, which is about situations where folding somehow causes you to win the pot. See also ScrewThisImOuttaHere; VillainExitStageLeft; OptOut; ISurrenderSuckers; GracefulLoser; IWillFightNoMoreForever; RunOrDie; SwitchOutMove; SensingYouAreOutmatched; TacticalWithdrawal. Contrast SunkCostFallacy, which this trope tries to avoid, and SurrenderBackfire. Compare with DirtyCoward and contrast with RageQuit, which are more emotion-driven while Knowing when to Fold 'Em is strategically based, even though anyone who is willing to commit atrocities because he believes he has the upper hand and stands back because of biting off more than he could chew is a DirtyCoward by default. Also contrast with LeeroyJenkins, who is pretty much the antithesis of this trope, and AttackAttackAttack, where the character's {{determinat|or}}ion blinds them to when it is time to give up. Compare ''and'' contrast the DeterminedDefeatist, who is a {{ZigZagg|ingTrope}}ed example, having the attitude of this trope, but who will [[{{Determinator}} press on]] anyway.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'': As he is wont to do, Batman thrashes one of his suspect's bodyguards early in the story. When that bodyguard later finds Batman going through said suspect's room, he decides to practice [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMd4S-LkywI the better part of valor]].

* In a filk titled Jirel of Joiry an Evil Overlord is told of Jirel's deeds and promptly decides "He who would rule does not squander his strength so I think we'll leave Joiry alone."..

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''The Black Swordsman'' story arc of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', after Guts's ally Vargas has been captured by the Count's men and about to be executed, Puck asks why Guts isn't going in and rescuing him. The guy who once slew 100 warriors in one sitting, tells Puck to screw off since there's about 50 guards in the area lying in wait for him and he's not going to risk fighting so many for a weakling. Instead Guts just witnesses Vargas's execution, leaving Puck to attempt a rescue alone and fail.
* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'': Gunha Sogiita, one of the most HotBlooded, {{Idiot Hero}}es of all time, ran away when he was confronted by the [[TheDreaded Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor]]. What makes it funny is that the Dorm Supervisor is a BadassNormal, while Gunha once refused to run away from Ollerus, a near PhysicalGod.
* When Chrono and Rosete of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' are ambushed by an enemy, Chrono tells Rosette urgently that they have to retreat. Rosette -- being a {{Determinator}} -- argues with him, shouting "Why are you saying we should give up?!" [[spoiler:She then grabs his arm as he tries to take her away. This distracts him and gives their opponent a chance to shoot at Chrono, nearly killing him. Things only go downhill from there.]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' -- One of Lelouch Lamperouge's flaws is his inability to back down. This stems from a personal variation on the SunkCostFallacy: if he doesn't achieve his goals, then all the people who died aiding him will have their deaths rendered meaningless. That, and he simply refuses to accept defeat.
** He plays it straight during the Battle of Narita by ordering a retreat after Kallen loses her Radiant Surger Wave claw in a DiabolusExMachina. He knows full well that in spite of his side's tactical advantage this battle, continuing would be a war of attrition. Exactly one season later, Schneizel himself orders a retreat, only in this case on account of Zero inciting a rebellion in China via [[EngineeredPublicConfession publicly exposing the eunuchs' plans]], knowing that the eunuchs are [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating nothing without the support of the public]].
** Also, while Lelouch hates backing down once a battle has started, he also recognises that he is hopelessly outmatched in terms of brute strength, so generally prefers to use guerilla tactics. In addition to the Battle of Narita, there are a few other times when he doesn't continue to press his advantage because it would become a war of attrition, and his battles often end with him ordering his forces to use various pre-planned escape routes, showing that he does fully appreciate the necessity of retreating, even if he hates doing it.
* In an episode of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'', TK successfully convinces all but one of the Digi-Destined group to make a strategic withdrawal. Subverted when Davis, the one who isn't convinced, succeeds despite ignoring the logic, but only through [[BrokenAesop pure dumb luck.]]
* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** In the first TournamentArc, after regrowing his tail, Goku tests his power by demolishing a brick wall with a single punch. Seeing this, his opponent Giran pulls out a white flag and forfeits.
** King Vegeta surrendered to Frieza and allowed the Saiyan race to become his servants, knowing that they didn't stand a chance against him, but was patiently biding his time to try to stab him in the back. His son Vegeta similarly feigned loyalty to the tyrant instead of trying to fight him right away. ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' revealed that King Vegeta similarly bent the knee to Beerus The God of Destruction.
** Goku surrenders the fight against Beerus after barely managing to stop a powerful energy ball he threw towards Earth. Exhausted and unable to match his power, Goku concedes defeat to Beerus instead of trying to continue fighting like most of his other battles. Beerus spares the Earth partly for this reason.
** During her "[[CurbStompBattle fight]]" with Spopovich. Videl realizes she's ''way'' out of her league and allows herself to be thrown out of the ring; however, Spopovich grabs her in mid-air and tosses her right back in so [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown he can continue beating her senseless]].
** As revealed in ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', for all of his arrogance and smugness, even Frieza knew better than to cross Beerus and Majin Buu. Discovering that Goku beat Buu fuels his decision to train in preparation for their rematch, and even after unlocking his GoldenSuperMode, Frieza dreads Beerus to the point of shamelessly kneeling and groveling before him.
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Several people do this when confronted with Shizuo Heiwajima, the most ridiculously overpowered human being alive. In fact, it's remarkable how many people ''don't'' run when they see him; the city is filled with TooDumbToLive people who either [[UnderestimatingBadassery assume his reputation is exaggerated]] or [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller fail to identify him until it's too late]]. Kasane Kujiragi, one of the most powerful characters in the series, who is both [[spoiler:a {{Dhampyr}} and an undisputed master of [[EvilWeapon Saika]]]], immediately drops her plans and walks away when Shizuo shows up.
* Early on in ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'', Monta learns that it's okay to give up playing baseball because he's just bad at it and find a sport he can be good at instead.
** Forfeiting the match against the Hakushuu Dinosaurs is also the reason Taiyo Sphinx quarterback Kiminari Harao is still walking properly; If he had kept the game going, the Dinosaurs' monstrous Rikiya Gaou would've definitely crippled him. The Sphinx had no other option but to forfeit as ''they had no linemen left.''
** In a literal gambling example, Hiruma folds in a poker game against Clifford when he realizes that Clifford has the winning hand (hopefully this isn't foreshadowing.) This was played as a win on Hiruma's part though, since the real game was a bluff-off between himself and Clifford. Clifford had the better hand and was not happy that Hiruma folded before he could show that he had won.
* In Chapter 206 of ''Manga/FairyTail'', [[spoiler: Natsu, [[{{Determinator}} of all people]]]], surrenders after realizing just how great the gap between him and [[spoiler: Gildarts]] really is. [[spoiler: Good thing it was a SecretTestOfCharacter meant to test Natsu's judgment, and he passed.]]
** In the Grand Magic Games, the free-for-all event on the start of the second day has the participants race across a series of carts, an event that Dragon Slayers, [[WeaksauceWeakness who are susceptible to motion sickness]], don't stand a chance of winning. The event awards points based on how well the participants do, with 10 points for the winner and 0 for the one in last place, so the Dragon Slayers could, at most, hope for sixth place and two points. [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Sting]], who's competing for Sabertooth (which is in the lead at the moment), decides it isn't worth the humiliation, and drops out after a brief conversation with his rivals Natsu and Gajeel (whose teams are at the back of the pack), whereas Natsu barely passes Gajeel to get sixth place. Sting ends up coming to regret this decision after Natsu defeats him and Rogue, resulting in Natsu's team pulling ''one point'' ahead of Saber Tooth. In the end, [[spoiler:Sting surrenders rather than fight the five members of Fairy Tail's combined team, even though he's uninjured and they're on their last legs, since he's come to realize how determiend they are]].
** After the TimeSkip, Natsu fights Orochi's Fin alongside Lamia Scale, and easily defeats Bluenote Stinger. After he wins, the rest of Orochi's Fin surrenders on the spot, knowing they don't stand a chance against the one who defeated their strongest fighter.
* ''Manga/GirlsBravo'': [[{{tomboy}} Kirie]] ''had'' a crush on her next door neighbor (and classmate), Yukinari. In Episode 4, she tried to get closer to him by preparing a special box bento, [[ThroughHisStomach in hopes of going on a lunch date with him.]] Except it failed due to a series of unforeseen events and, with Lisa now entering the picture [[ForegoneConclusion along with Miharu]], Kirie decided it was no longer worth it and quit. From the fifth episode onwards, [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend she settles for just being friends with him.]]
* Deconstructed in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' with Killua, whose first instinct when he's certain he's facing a more powerful opponent is to run. Unfortunately, this proves to be more of a hindrance a lot of the time, as running isn't always an option, and with his tendency to underestimate himself, it ends up holding him back from going all-out. This provides a hilarious moment when he and Gon are trapped in a room by Nobunaga. With Nobunaga blocking the only way out of the room and being far too strong for the two of them to fight, they suddenly rush him...only to break down the walls of the room and flee. When Nobunaga runs out to look for them, Killua declares that they'll come out to face him...only to take Gon and flee the building while Nobunaga waits for them to show themselves. It's later subverted when it turns out this behavior is actually manipulation from his older brother Illumi, who is overbearingly protective of him. To ensure he never fights opponents stronger than himself, he planted a mind-controlling needle in his forehead that puts that instinct in his mind. Once Killua figures this out, he immediately removes the needle, and along with it, the crippling desire to run.
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', Joseph's final super special plan consists of basically making the best use of his legs. In other words, to run the hell away. He usually comes up with a better plan while he's at it. (It sees use again in the part's finale, and gets a brief CallBack in [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders the next part.]])
** Even Joseph's son Josuke and grandson Jotaro do this occasionally, once again to strategize against HopelessBossFight at first glance.
** This carries on to Giorno, Joseph's ''uncle'', ([[TangledFamilyTree don't ask how]]), as he ran away rather than face Koichi and his Echoes Act 3.
* Most fighters in ''Manga/KenganAshura'' avert this, as they refuse to concede and fight until incapacitated -- or even until death -- in any fight, regardless of opponent or conditions. However, Muteba Gizenga, being a ''mercenary'' first and foremost, notably concedes in his battle against [[spoiler:Wakatsuki, after he is hit with the Blast Core]] as he judges that further combat would affect his long-term career as a mercenary.
* {{Discussed|Trope}} by Reinhard von Lohengramm in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'', where he told his attendant that first-rate commanders are commanders who at least knows when to retreat, although he himself never needed to retreat, since he always enters the battlefield with overwhelming advantages (except in one occasion).
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'':
** Knowing when he no longer has anything to gain by continuing to fight is one of the things that makes Neo Roanoke one of the most effective tacticians.
** Of his subordinates, [[OnlySaneMan Sting Oakley]] is the only one of the [[{{Tykebomb}} Extended]] trio to follow Neo's example. [[AxCrazy Auel]] and [[PsychopathicManchild Stella]] will fight to the end, but Sting is smart enough to know when the battle is going against them, and typically bails soon afterwards, taking the other two with him.
* The "Unknown Enemy" of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE'' don't bother fighting battles they know they can't win. Only once has an entire UE attack force been wiped out in the course of a battle, and that's because they were blindsided by two extremely powerful mobile suits they had no way of predicting. In every other case, they've retreated the moment the battle started going against them. This stops happening past the first season though... perhaps the vanguard force was more elite than the main army.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', [[BrilliantButLazy Shikamaru]] shows his knowledge of this trope during the Chunin Exam arc. He fought Temari and appeared to have her beaten, then gave up at the last minute. It's because of this that he gets promoted to Chuunin.
-->'''Shikamaru''': I used up too much chakra, using the Shadow Imitation so many times. I can only hold you for an additional ten seconds. So I've thought about 200 possible moves... but time's up. It's too troublesome to do more.
** Itachi and Kisame did this twice during their attempt to capture Naruto. The first was when Guy showed up; while they had dealt with Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai fairly handily and probably could have dealt with Guy as well, they retreated because they figured that Guy was the first of many and they weren't equipped to fight off a bunch of jonin. The second time was against Jiraiya; the minute he showed up and made it clear that he wasn't playing, Kisame admitted that he would stomp them in a fight and they immediately abandoned the mission and fled.
* An ep of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' has perennial athlete Aiko give up her spot to Hazuki in a swim relay. [[spoiler:Despite Hazuki taking the lead, [[DiabolusExMachina she cramps in the homestretch.]]]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** In an early story where Sanji is introduced, the armored pirate "Foul Play" Don Krieg (who's as rotten as his title implies) barges onto the restaurant-ship demanding food for his crew of fifty men. Several of the staff try to drive him off, but are curb-stomped quickly. Eventually, Zeff decides to do the smart thing, and simply give him what he wants, bringing out the food and telling him sternly to take it and go. (Unfortunately, this makes it worse, as Don Krieg recognizes Zeff as the former captain of the Cook Pirates, and now wants to stay around for a different reason.)
** In the same story arc as the one where Sanji is introduced, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, shows up pursuing Krieg due to boredom. Later on, Mihawk has fought and beaten Roronoa Zoro, Luffy's crewmate, and been impressed by his spirit. When Krieg tries to attack Hawkeye again (ignoring how the last time his crew fought Hawkeye it cost him his entire fleet save one ship), Krieg's men start begging him to just let Hawkeye leave unmolested.
--->"For the love of God, if the man wants to leave, ''let him leave!''"
** Luffy decides to order his crew to focus only on running away when facing [[HopelessBossFight Admiral Kizaru, Sentoumaru and Bartholomew Kuma]], after having already exhausted themselves beating one of the latter mere moments earlier. Although not their first defeat, this is the first time they've ever run away from a fight. [[spoiler: It doesn't work. By God, it does ''not'' [[WhamEpisode work]].]]
** Akainu also demonstrated this at Marineford. After a lengthy battle against Whitebeard that resulted in huge casualties on both sides and very nearly destroyed Marineford, Akainu was still totally prepared to mop up what was left. When [[spoiler:Shanks and his crew]] showed up, he pulled a 180 and opted to back off and call it a wrap rather than deal with someone on par with the dude who just crippled them in the first place.
*** Post-timeskip, he displays another moment of restraint when he absolutely refuses to touch the Wano Country, stating that between [[spoiler:Kaido and Big Mom's alliance, the amount of serious heavy hitters in the Wano Country in general, and the abolition of the Shichibukai system and current struggles with former members of the latter]], the Marines don't have enough resources to take on that many serious heavy hitters and not get stomped into the ground.
** Blackbeard, after [[spoiler:gaining Whitebeard's Devil Fruit abilities]], opted to quit while he was ahead and get the hell out of there. Sure, he may have just gained an ''enormous'' power boost, but considering that he had very nearly been killed by an enraged Whitebeard moments before and was going to have to deal with the likes of Shanks, Sengoku, the Admirals, the Warlords, and tons of other major-league hitters with something that he had no experience with using if he pressed the attack, he was ''very'' smart to take the safe road.
** Doflamingo also demonstrated this after [[spoiler:Kuzan showed up at Punk Hazard and stopped him from killing Smoker]]. Yeah, he probably could have done okay against him. That wasn't the point, however; he came to Punk Hazard to clean up a mess and eliminate key witnesses to activities that he didn't want the World Government to know about, not fight a pissed off [[spoiler:ex-Admiral]], and he already had enough on his plate as is and didn't need anything else that could add to it.
** When [[TheDreaded Kaido]] drops in on Captain Kid, Killer, Apoo, and Hawkin's pirate alliance, because [[spoiler:Apoo was [[TheMole already under Kaido's fold]] and tricked the others]], Hawkin gave up without a fight because he saw, using his clairvoyance, that there was a zero percent chance they could get away or defeat Kaido. Kidd and Killer [[NeverTellMeTheOdds refused to submit]] and, as predicted, were [[CurbStompBattle thoroughly thrashed]].
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** It is stated on numerous occasions that it is a trainer's duty to end the battle if there is any serious danger to their Pokémon (the first battles with Brock, Sabrina, and Blaine all ended in this fashion). However, this is pretty much a BrokenAesop as Ash will {{determinat|or}}e himself through anything, even winning one badge when Pryce forfeited despite Ash ignoring the option to do the same earlier.[[note]]It should be noted however, this is less a broken aesop, and more of the "difference between TV show and games" RunningGag. In the games, the player doesn't have this option when fighting against other trainers (especially gym leaders). The player must see each battle to the end, just like any other RPG boss fight.[[/note]]
** Ash was also berated for making his Treecko continue to fight Brawly's Hariyama despite Treecko having no chance to win.[[note]]Which again, would have to happen in the games.[[/note]] It didn't help that he was almost ready to give up before, but Treecko got up anyway. Ash was pretty pissed at himself for making that decision to continue after he lost. We do run into the problem that Ash's Pokémon take after his personality; they all hate to give up.[[note]]Which isn't a bad thing, since perseverance does result in victory sometimes.[[/note]]
** The ''Team Rocket trio'' did this for a good portion of the Unova arc. When things start going too far south, they get the heck of there instead of fighting until they're sent blasting off. It's worked much better for them.
** They do it again near the end of the ''XY'' series, where the twerps' Pokemon have become so overpowered even they lampshade [[StoryBreakerPower they don't stand a chance anymore]], working in the background until the twerps disband to other regions and Ash is vulnerable again.
** Also came back to haunt Ash during his first full battle with Paul. Ash was once going to withdraw Buizel, since it had taken massive damage from Paul's AxCrazy Ursaring. This would have been the logical thing to do, but Buizel gives Ash the thumbs up, signaling it can still fight. Ash leaves Buizel in...and it gets [[CurbStompBattle massacred]]. Ash was called out on this by Paul's brother Reggie who stated that Buizel was eliminated due to poor judgment by Ash.[[note]]This happens [[RunningGag a lot]] in the anime.[[/note]] Moral: The trainer is responsible for knowing when a Pokemon should be switched out, and relying simply on faith in your Pokemon doesn't cut it when the odds are stacked against you.[[note]][[RunningGag Except when]] [[SpoofAesop it does]].[[/note]]
** Paul ''does'' know when to cut his losses, at least when his emotions aren't getting the better of him. After Cynthia completely annihilates Paul's Pokemon, he decides to concede the battle after seeing there is a massive difference in skill and power.[[note]]You know, in order to further prove this point.[[/note]] Cynthia is the most powerful trainer in the Sinnoh region, so there's no shame in losing to her at all.[[note]]Except when there is...[[/note]]
** In ''Anime/PokemonKyuremVSTheSwordOfJustice'', Keldeo yields his rematch after protecting Ash and his friends from a stray attack made him too injured to continue. Kyurem and the other Swords of Justice praise him for his good judgment.
** Another early Kanto arc example is in "The Punchy Pokemon", where Anthony convinces Brock to throw in the towel when it's clear Geodude vs. Hitmonlee is a mismatch. Anthony himself does the same when his daughter Rebecca nearly gets herself seriously injured protecting his defenseless Hitmonchan.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': The Saotome Secret Technique, employed by the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, relies on speed, obfuscation, and contemplation. Or, put more plainly, run away and hide until you come up with a better plan. While introduced mostly as a joke early on, this is actually Ranma's most useful skill, as most of his fights are won less through sheer skill (Having just learned [[MartialArtsAndCrafts how to fight with teacups and teaspoons a few days ago]]), and more through outsmarting his opponents.
* The majority of the characters in ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' are members of a {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, and enjoy a [[BloodKnight good]] [[SpiritedCompetitor fight]]. This makes {{AntiVillain}}s Mutsu and Akitsu noteworthy for their willingness to run from a fight. Unlike other Sekirei that flee because they're [[RedShirt hopelessly outmatched]], both are established as being among the most powerful fighters. Instead, they're simply pragmatic enough to see when a situation is unfavorable or a waste of time and too busy [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder keeping their master]] safe.
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', Princess Elizabeth fleeing the capital to seek help after her father's murder is portrayed as both the smart and right thing to do. Especially since [[DamselInDistress she]] had no hope in hell of defeating his usurpers or bringing them to justice legally (they were ''that'' high up in Liones' hierarchy).
* Simon from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' is an insanely badass {{Determinator}}, but is rational enough to walk away from a fight once he's exhausted every other option. This is the principal difference between him and Kamina. However, this isn't always a good thing. When Kamina and Simon were first fighting Thymilph, everyone was trying to convince them to retreat, before Simon himself points out they may need to this one time. However, Kamina (correctly) points out that they can't. If they did, they would be putting the others in danger because they'd be chased. This ends up with Simon taking advantage of a cliff to sink the Dai-Gunzan and win them the battle.
* ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'': Violet encounters a small squad of soldiers, and the leader recognizes her as the [[OneManArmy Maiden of the Battlefield]]. Despite being a warmongering asshole murdering his own countrymen because he thinks they're "weak" for choosing peace, he gives up and walks away without the slightest sign of embarrassment.
-->'''Soldier:''' Let's go, boys. We're no match for her.
* ''Manga/WanganMidnight'' has Tatsuya Shima, the driver of the legendary "Blackbird". Despite being one of the best race drivers on the Wangan expressway, he will pull out of a race if he feels that his vehicle is in danger of a breakdown.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Yugi and his grandpa Solomon both did this. It turned out to be a GenerationXerox battle. Yugi's grandpa conceded a duel (water was at stake; they were stranded in Egypt) because his friend was in more need of the water. Years later, Yugi duels the other guy's granddaughter who had a related grudge. The duel went pretty much the way the old duel went, to the point that Yugi concedes at the exact same point: just before drawing the GameBreaker. In Yugi's case, winning wouldn't have settled the grudge, and when the gentlemen revealed just what Yugi had done, the granddaughter finally realizes Yugi hadn't been acting selfish at all (which she had been believing the whole time).
** In Yugi and Mai's match during the Duelist Kingdom finals, when Yugi manages to summon Black Luster Soldier, Mai surrenders immediately, because it just destroyed her most powerful monster and she doesn't have anything else in her deck that can come close to beating it.
* Its sequel series ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' also has this in the case of Yuzu Hiragi because [[spoiler:she knows she can't beat [[TheDragon Yuri]], she opted to run away and wait until the Battle Royale is over. She was nearly caught, but credit is where it dues]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
** Both Romans and Pirates give up fighting at some point. The pirates are infamous for [[TakeAThirdOption sinking their own ship]] once they realise there are Gauls on the other vessel and they can't run away fast enough.
** Even more noteworthy is Julius Caesar's use of this trope, because he isn't acting like a snivelling coward and it isn't played for laughs. Au contraire, he often appears at the end of a story, granting amnesty to Asterix and Obelix and even doing a few favours... because they have already fought through tooth and nail and the only way to save face and avoid a humiliating defeat, is acting in acceptance. Asterix usually plays along because it would complicate matters a little otherwise.
* TheDragon from the third ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'' series advocated just up and leaving when it became clear they weren't in control of the situation. The BigBad always shot down his suggestion that they quit while they were ahead.
* Part of the reason Bullseye has lived so long as a PsychoForHire is because he's perfectly willing to abandon any job that seems to be getting too hot for him.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}: The Flash #2'', the Creator/{{Tangent|Comics}} Superman willingly chooses to surrender to the Earth-One era Barry Allen after he sees through Barry's future and the impact he has on the Multiverse such as the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''. He realizes that if he eliminates Barry, he will doom the Multiverse and all of continuity.
-->'''Tangent Superman''': "One city for another? A grim moral choice. One city for ALL creation? For the Multiverse? It is only a matter of scale, but the scale matters."
* In the final issue of ''ComicBook/{{DCeased}}'', [[spoiler:the infected Superman finds himself confronting the Green Lantern Corps. He sizes up his opponents and realizes he can't beat them all and decides to dive into the heart of the sun and absorb all the energy he can to kill as many lives as possible. Similarly, when Ganthet sees this, he realizes not even a Green Lantern Ring can withstand the heart of a star and decides to let Sector 2814 perish and let the infection sleep so they can get what survivors they had to a new world and rebuild]].
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Reed Richards once contacted an alien invasion fleet right before they were about to attack Earth. In the middle of introducing himself, the aliens realized who he was (the supergenius leader of the group that has foiled other alien invasions and ComicBook/{{Galactus}} himself) and wisely got the hell away from Earth.
** This is a part of what has always made ComicBook/DoctorDoom such a capable antagonist. Unlike most supervillains, Doom can recognise when the plan has gone south and it's time to leave. Yeah, Reed Richards is still alive, and you don't have what you came here for. It doesn't matter. It's time to go. Long before he had his diplomatic immunity, Doom regularly got away by having planned his escape in advance, and leaving the minute he was in danger of being surrounded. In one instance, he fights the Fantastic Four tooth and nail trying to get to Mjolnir and claim it, eventually beating them, grasping the handle and, predictably, being unable to budge it. Rather than rage at his failure or try to take it out on anyone nearby, he simply shrugs and goes home.
** In another notable example, Doom and the Avengers just concluded an EnemyMine against Attuma, but Doom being Doom steals the machine Attuma had been using in preparation for one of his plots. The Avengers pursue and fight him, but the Vision chooses to sneak in and destroy the machine rather than risk it being used by anyone. Doom immediately realises what has happened and curses the Vision, but then simply flies away rather than continue a pointless battle. The Avengers briefly debate continuing the pursuit, but also decide that continued conflict is pointless.
* ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'': {{God}} gives the title character an epic put down in the last issue of the series, using the ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' tale of Buddha and the Monkey King to illustrate the foolishness of fighting someone that you could never conceivably defeat. Lucifer counters that he lost with pride at least, the validity of which is up to the readers to decide.
* At least twice Creator/MarvelComics has used the schtick that an alien force is intent on invading Earth only for one person doing the research to realize they are trying to invade a planet that has defended itself successfully, multiple times, against other invading aliens, multiple galactic empires (''at the same time''), cosmic entities no one else in the universe has ever managed to even slow down, and is home to entities capable of eating stars, assorted deities, and a Watcher who thinks the planet rocks so much he's actually done stuff instead of merely observing. One time the fleet commander listens and does a u-turn. Another, not so much. The invasion is defeated by three X-Men (one of them drunk).
** Made literal in the latter case when one group of the invaders backs off when faced with a lethal bet in a card game against Wolverine.
* In ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures'' Bullseye demonstrates that he knows not to punch above his weight class.
-->'''Hulk:''' Pay taxes.\\
'''Bullseye:''' Okay, I will.\\
''Moments later, Bullseye is letting himself be handcuffed.''\\
'''Cop:''' Huh, the fight sure went out of you quick!\\
'''Bullseye:''' Hulk says pay taxes. I pay taxes.
* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'':
** A couple of criminal droids realize it's not worth trying to defend their boss from the hero. Subverted since Paperinik still stops them.
--->'''Gottfresh:''' Stop him! Do something!\\
'''Mantis!:''' You made him angry! See you!
** Also Colonel Neopard -- in his words "The mercenary that knows when to quit is good for another mission!" [[spoiler:Subverted again, as he planted a bomb to destroy his target anyway. He had a contract and a reputation, after all...]]
** As soon as they realized her power, whenever the Evronians encounter Xadhoom (a {{Physical God}}dess bent on killing them) they would try and run away unless they had a trap for her. Always {{subverted|Trope}} because she's not only too powerful to fight, but also ''faster than them''.
** Also the Raider knows when it's a good time to retreat. This and his TimeMachine is what makes him ''really'' dangerous: as powerful as he is he can be defeated, but the moment the tide turns against him he'll run and, if possible, [[ResetButton alter some event before the fight to gain the advantage]].
** Duckburg's normal criminals know better than to fight or run when Paperinik catches them. This is a hold-over from the "classic" Paperinik stories, where Paperinik has crushed and humiliated enough of them that they'll just grab the evidence and give themselves up to the police when he shows up.
* ''ComicBook/TheRedTen'': After [[TenLittleMurderVictims several members of the Alliance die]], Orion declares that he's [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leaving]], comparing the situation to staying in a losing card game and invoking this trope word for word.
* While ComicBook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake is unquestionably tenacious, he knows when to pull back from a situation to approach it from another angle, or give up on a case permanently, as he did when a gun runner he was following had the bad luck of being chosen by an EldritchAbomination as its newest anchor for a human form.
* As their name suggests, the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} frequently follow this principle.
* ''ComicBook/SerenityLeavesOnTheWind'': In ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' the Operative was a fighter bordering on GodModeSue: both times he went up against Mal directly, Mal only won by luck. So you know it's bad when the Operative, post-HeelFaceTurn, sees his fellow operative Kalista and immediately surrenders. [[spoiler:Turned on its head a page later when ''Serenity'' arrives with a cargo bay full of browncoats. Kalista apparently decides the rebels will win by sheer numbers even against her and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere promptly high-tails it]].]]
* ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire: Evolution'': As soon as the Pike Sisters learn that their bounty hunt is pitting them against the Heroes of Yavin, they quit their job. [[spoiler:Their boss tries to enforce ResignationsNotAccepted with his blaster, but he’s the one who ends up dead while the heroes let the Pike Sisters leave peacefully.]]
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'': After they've been beaten by Super Sonic and Super Armor Mega Man, Dr. Wily accepts defeat and patiently waits for the heroes to use Chaos Control to undo the Super Genesis Wave. Eggman, however, is not so restrained and opts for a LastVillainStand against Sonic.
* Franchise/SpiderMan is a Determinator of the highest caliber. When he first encounters the Juggernaut in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Issue 229, he launches repeated attacks in futile attempt to slow the villain down. In the follow-up issue, Spidey becomes so desperate he starts using attacks that would cripple or kill even the hardiest of his usual enemies, culminating in him ramming a fully-loaded fuel truck right into Juggernaut and being shocked the guy was still standing. In a later encounter, Juggernaut bluntly tells Spider-Man he's just going into the city to secure an item for his employer, and warns Spidey that if he tries to stop him, then Juggernaut fully intends to do as much damage to the city as he can. Spider-Man agrees to step aside and let him proceed, and when called out on it replies that he isn't anywhere near strong enough to fight someone like Juggernaut, and he isn't willing to risk the lives of innocent people out of pride.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': This is Superman's answer to the riddle of the Ultra-Sphinx (which doesn't solve the paradox at all.)
--->'''Ultra-Sphinx''': Question: What happens when [[UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject the Unstoppable Force meets the Immovable Object]]?\\
'''Superman''': Ha. How about this? They surrender.
** In "[[ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth The Girl of No Tomorrow]]", the sorceress Selena joins the Fatal Five to take ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} down. She and Magog raid a government building where the Girl of Steel is resting, but they're curbstomped by an ally of Supergirl's. Selena judges it's time to cut her losses and teleports away.
--->'''Selena:''' Well. This fight is certainly going in a direction. I think I will, too.\\
'''Magog:''' Selena! You can't just desert me! We're in this, coward!\\
'''Selena:''' Read the fine print, Magog. I didn't sign up for werewolves. Have fun.
** ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'': When Starfire decides to run away while Supergirl is beating her mooks down, her minion Dr. Kangle agrees a retreat is the smart strategy:
--->'''Starfire:''' And speaking of go-- Let's! Come on, Professor!\\
'''Dr. Kangle:''' Right, Starfire-- Supergirl is too much for us right now! It's better to run and fight another day!
** In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Darkseid decides his scheme to kidnap and brainwash Kara Zor-El into becoming his slave is not worth the trouble after Wonder Woman has defeated his Furies, Superman has knocked Kara out and Batman has reprogrammed his Hellspore bombs to blow Apokolips up. Darkseid calmly snorts and tells the heroes to take Kara and get out of his planet.
** ''ComicBook/TheLeperFromKrypton'': A criminal gang is raiding a gold shipment when they spot Superman flying overhead. Aware that Superman is out of his league, and that he has just gotten infected with a dangerous and contagious alien disease, they surrender immediately out of fear of being both beaten and infected.
* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'': In ''Infiltration'', the Earth Based Infiltration team renege against Megaton, with Starscream discovering Ore-13 which can empower them greatly. After Megatron {{curbstomp|Battle}}s Skywarp and Blitzwing, Starscream tests the formula and sends an empowered Thundercracker, Astrotrain, Runabout and Runamuck against Megatron. Megatron calmly tells them to stand down, or he will kill all of them. The four immediately lower their weapons. The threat was not hollow, as even the empowered Starscream can't stand up to Megatron.
** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': Simply having the presence of mind to recognize when to back down is considered a strength among many Micromasters; Swindler of the Race Car patrol knows when he's beat. Detour of the Sports Car patrol is a bit of a coward, but can tell when the other shoe's about to drop, too.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: When Diana slams through the wall of the Saturnian throne room, and the Emperor has no hostages to use against her, he has his guards and soldiers stand down and agrees to work out a peaceable treaty with the US, stop abducting people and return all human slaves to earth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Near the end of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4967518/6/Adamantine-Mist Adamantine Mist]]'', Cologne makes Shampoo give up on marrying Ranma after witnessing every civilian in Nerima prepare to stand against them. Sure, they ''could'' easily decimate every last one of them but neither Japan nor China would tolerate such a massacre and their village only exists because they're not worth the trouble to conquer.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14004251/1/Age-of-Titans Age of Titans]]'': When Ymir becomes the first titan, Karl Fritz submits to her and declares she was to have equal authority to himself within his lands, knowing he couldn't stand against a being who was functionally a god.
* ''Fanfic/AgesOfShadow'': As [[TheChosenOne King Cheherazad]] starts decimating the forces of [[TheEmpire the Himinate]], [[FallenHero Jade]] orders her remaining minions to flee, so that the [[ReligionOfEvil Shadow Walkers]] may survive and rebuild after the dust settles.
* ''Fanfic/AllAssortedAnimorphsAUs'': In "What if they were caught during their first mission?", Tobias tells Rachel that they'll "live and fight another day" while tied up and surrounded by people pointing guns at them. Then they're all made into controllers, and Tobias lets himself be killed.
* In [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9750991/72/Angry-Harry-and-the-Seven Chapter 72]] of ''Angry Harry and the Seven'', Harry Potter advises Cedric Diggory on the safest way to get past the obstacles in the Triwizard Tournament maze: "You only have to get ''past'' the obstacles, not defeat them. Sometimes your best choice is to run away."
* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', after Ash navigates through his gym with the [[TrueSight Aura Sight]], is able to seemingly see through everything he can do, and has multiple powerful pokemon, who in the case of Charizard have set up a Flare Blitz that can burn off poison attacks... the gym leader Koga concedes and gives Ash the Soul Badge without any further fighting, deciding that Ash has all of the advantages whereas he has almost none. This also has the pleasant side-effect of leaving his gym mostly undamaged (a RunningGag is that Ash tends to heavily damage the gyms he fights in).
* ''Fanfic/AuntSalem'': Weiss is rather annoyed when everyone in her friend group starts talking about creating a polysexual romance centered around ''her'' boyfriend Jaune (Jaune isn't around to defend himself). She soon realizes that she won't be able to keep him to herself, so she recruits Velvet and Pyrrha, the two girls she finds least offensive, to help her keep everyone else away.
* ''Fanfic/BecomingATrueInvader'': During the FinalBattle, [[BigBad the Employer]] decides to flee to another dimension after his armies are destroyed on Irk and start over. [[spoiler:But since he's [[GrandTheftMe possessing Zim's body]] at the time, Gaz refuses to let him.]]
* Team 10 in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3665921/55/Black-Flames-Dance-In-The-Wind-Rise-of-Naruto Black Flames Dance in the Wind: Rise of Naruto]]'' eventually decide to withdraw from the Chunin Exams as while they ''might'' be able to get through to the individual rounds, they're too pathetic on their own to accomplish anything there. Furthermore, there's [[FlockOfWolves more ringers in this particular exam than normal entrants]], including several people who are S-Class and above.
* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', Xenilla and Mothra realized that Princess Celestia's power dwarfed all the kaiju present. They managed to convince their teammates to surrender (except for Destroyah, who only stopped when [[MoralityPet The Cutie Mark Crusaders]] begged her to stop), as it was a fight they could not win.
* ''Fanfic/ChasingDragons'': When the Old Faith rebellion manages to completely overwhelm Gulltown's Arryn loyalist forces, the few remaining members of the latter's local garrison choose to give up and flee by sea rather than futilely continue to fight.
* In the epilogue of ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Wisdom reveals that the Prime Minister is planning to resign with dignity as soon as the cleanup from the FinalBattle is done, rather than stick around for an election he's bound to lose because of all the stuff that happened on his watch.
** In the necromancy half of the sequel's ''Bloody Hell'' arc, Cowl pulls a VillainExitStageLeft as soon as it becomes apparent that pulling off the Darkhallow (an ascension ritual) is no longer on the cards and the alternative is sticking around to fight Wanda Maximoff, Harry Dresden, several White Council Wardens, and Magneto.
* ''[[http://twispitefic.livejournal.com/33393.html Class A Felony]]'': When Edward comes blazing up to Bella's house after Charlie already had Bella radio his deputy to arrest Jacob for sexual assault, Charlie warns Edward that "If you're off my property in the next five minutes, I won't have you arrested for trespassing." Edward wisely drives off without a word, likely realizing how pissed Charlie is.
* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': In Chapter 23, after Voltron decimates her forces effortlessly, an infuriated Cornelia orders her men to withdraw from Narita, making this the first defeat she's ever suffered.
* ''Fanfic/ContactAtKobol'': Arguably the Tau'ri's entire strategy is to force the Colonials into one of these. [[spoiler:Libran gets there first.]]
* In ''[[http://naruto.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600105466&chapter=5 Demon's Dirty Dreams]]'', Zabuza decides against killing Tazuna when offered the pay he would have gotten for the job. It helps Naruto had already killed Gato at that point so Zabuza's options were fight and maybe die for nothing or take his pay and leave.
* The House of Black and White in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13034223/14/A-Discordant-Note A Discordant Note]]'' functionally refuses to even try to assassinate Harry. When King Aerys tries to hire them for the job, the price they quote is "enough to beggar the Seven Kingdoms for generations" with their representative citing that they're being asked to kill a powerful sorcerer at the seat of his power where he's rumored to be all seeing and all knowing. It certainly helps that decades prior, Harry warned the Faceless Men that he'd wipe them all out if they ever took a contract against him.
* ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'': At the end of the FinalBattle, with [[spoiler:[[TheHeavy Control Brain IX]]]] destroyed and [[TheFederation the Syndicate]] arriving to back up the [[LaResistance Irken Resistance]], the remaining [[spoiler:[[AIIsACrapshoot Control Brain]]]] leaders of TheConspiracy surrender.
* ''Fanfic/{{The Games We Play|TheGamerRWBY}}'' explores this with Jaune's maternal grandma Jeanne Roma. She calls him out on his {{Determinator}} tendencies making him press on and getting into situations that nearly kill him, and has herself had a history of retreating from unwinnable battles. However, it also deconstructs the trope -- said unwinnable battles involved defending civilians from the predations of the Creatures of Grimm, and the reader is forced to ask himself what kind of cold, calculating person would be willing to throw defenceless innocents to the wolves to protect herself, even if under the nebulous desire of wanting to avoid a SenselessSacrifice to fight another day. Add in the strong implications that Jeanne's involved in shady business...
* Deconstructed in ''Fanfic/TheGreatestGeneration''. In of itself, Admiral Shimada having his damaged and fatigued forces retreat from the oncoming Abyssal juggernaut they had no chance of defeating should have been a wise idea. However, political realities intruded in the form of MortonsFork: With the sheer forces arrayed against him, the civilians were going to take a rusty spiked dildo in the butt sooner or later whatever he did. He could have his forces stand, fight and die in the vain hope that they can make a difference when an earlier force in optimal condition had failed, or retreat and preserve his strength. Admiral Shimada chose to put TheMenFirst and, because he didn't send his subordinates out to banzai charge and die in a SenselessSacrifice like a good soldier, ended up vilified InUniverse and out.
* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'':
** Servantis, Phobos' TokenGoodTeammate, ultimately decides to throw in the towel when Torus Filney is overrun by the Rebellion, telling [[MookLieutenant Lothar]] to take his men and flee, while he stays behind to surrender.
** When it becomes clear that Tracker is going to kill him if they [[EvilVersusEvil keep fighting]], Ikki surrenders to the Chans and Guardians, knowing they'll just remove his [[DemonicPossession mask]] from Hak Foo and disembody him.
** When the Guardians and Jade attack [[TheAlcatraz Cavigor]] to rescue Elyon's parents, they [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally]] provide an opening for [[spoiler: Drago]] to stop [[PlayAlongPrisoner playing along]] and escape. As a contingency to make sure he can get away, he magically weakens the prison's foundations to the point that [[CollapsingLair they'll collapse]], and states that [[TakingYouWithMe he's perfectly willing to let it fall on him if it means killing the Guardians and prison guards too]]. Realizing that he's not bluffing, the Guardians flee (knowing that they can track him down later), as does Warden Callisto, who grabs the Shapeshifter children in his care and runs to safety, realizing that there's no point in doing his job if the prison won't exist much longer.
** After Phobos is defeated at the end of Season 1, the Guard all lay down their weapons and surrender to the Rebellion.
* ''Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy'':
** In the first chapter of ''Heart of Ashes'', [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Fankil]] resurrects [[{{Seers}} Kathryn]], only for her to start screaming due to her [[CameBackWrong broken mind]]. He has only enough time to cast a [[ForcedSleep sleeping spell]] on her before he's attacked by a merchant caravan that's alerted by the woman's screaming and [[NotWhatItLooksLike find him sitting above her]]. Drained by the resurrection spell, Fankil knows he's too weakened to take on the men and flees to claim Kathryn another day.
** In the 13th chapter of ''Heart of the Inferno'', Urgost fights with Smaug, [[{{Fingore}} losing one of his fingers to the bigger dragon's teeth]] before being pinned down. After Urgost realizes that Smaug [[SparedByTheAdaptation isn't dead after all]], he looks at his stump and surrenders, saying that he has no desire to make the line of [[FamousAncestor Ancalagon the Black]] his enemy.
* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': At the end of "The Apokolips Agenda", Darkseid's scheme revolving around the Anti-Life Equation has failed and he is apparently obliterated by Orion. In reality, Darkseid transferred his conscience to a spare body, cloned beforehand in the event that he was defeated, and he decides he'll spend the next hundreds of years sleeping, recovering his strength and scheming while time and old age look after his fooled enemies.
* Interesting DoubleSubversion in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11899396/20/Ichigo-Awakens Ichigo Awakens]]''. When [[BrilliantButLazy Shunsui Kyoraku]] offers to let Yasutora "Chad" Sado join him for a drink instead of them fighting a clearly one-sided battle, Chad's refusal initially makes it seem like he's going to fight knowing he can't win, [[Anime/{{Bleach}} just like in canon]], only for Chad to clarify that he doesn't want any alcohol because he's underage. When Kyoraku offers some tea, Chad willingly sits down for a drink and talks.
* King Cold in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886818/6/Inheritance Inheritance]]'' leaves Earth after almost being defeated and all his generals and troops are killed. It's implied (and later confirmed) that he plans on returning after getting stronger. But currently, the planet and its residents are more hassle than they're worth.
* In ''Fanfic/ItachiIsThatABaby'', Snape gives up on punishing Harry when he realizes Harry won't get in trouble since everything he does is either A) Legally self-defense, or B) Impossible to prove he did it.
* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'':
** When Jaune encounters an [[EliteMook Alpha Beowolf]] at the start of the story, he doesn't even bother trying to fight it and runs as fast as his legs can carry him. He knows that without any training, he stands no chance of defeating a regular Beowolf, let alone an Alpha like the one he's facing.
** After witnessing [[spoiler:Darth Nihilus]] curb-stomp a dozen Huntsmen at once and NoSell her illusions, Neo decides that it's hopeless trying to fight him and wisely chooses to run the second she has the chance. [[spoiler:Seeing as how Cinder winds up dead not long after picking a fight with Nihilus, Neo made the right call.]]
** In the middle of Winter and Adam's duel in "[[Recap/JauneArcLordOfHungerVengeance Vengeance]]", [[spoiler:Winter catches sight of Darth Nihilus walking towards her position from behind Adam. Knowing that she is no match for him, she breaks off her duel with Adam and flees on the back of one of her Grimm summons. However, Adam doesn't get the message and tries to attack Nihilus with [[CurbStompBattle predictable results]].]]
* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'':
** After Hawkmoth's SecretIdentity is exposed during his FinalBattle with Ladybug, along with [[spoiler:Marinette herself getting unmasked]], Lila realizes that she needs to cut her losses and get out of Paris as soon as possible. This [[{{Foil}} contrasts sharply]] with Adrien, who ignores all warnings he receives from Plagg about the coming karmic backlash, refusing to believe that he's in any danger from his KarmaHoudiniWarranty running out.
** Also seen with Marinette; after all of her attempts to warn her classmates about Lila [[CassandraTruth go ignored]] and she realizes that they [[TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity took her generosity for granted]], she gives up on trying to help them. Just in time for them to start clamoring for her to save them from the consequences of their actions.
* ''Fanfic/LearningToBeHuman'': [[spoiler:After the Path to Victory shard tells him that the Entities' goal of an infinite food source and infinite replication is impossible given the known laws of physics, the Entity Abbadon (who'd created an amnesiac avatar that he [[HumanityIsInfectious recently reintegrated himself with]]), has a HeelRealization and finds a new solution to said goal. Specifically, giving up on it and [[HeelFaceTurn dedicating his life to doing something more sensible.]]]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12512455/17/Lex-Marks-The-Spot Lex Marks the Spot]]'', after someone tries to snipe Lex Luthor, he orders his men to find out who it is but to not engage if it was someone in a costume, as they don't stand a chance against a superhero/supervillain. When the security guards spot Deadshot fleeing the scene, they wave him on rather than try to stop him.
** Similarly, Deadshot leaves (presumably to renegotiate his contract) once he realizes he doesn't have any weapons on hand that can harm Lex in any meaningful way. Eventually, he calls Lex and tells him he's dropped the job because of the poor cost benefit ratio.
* In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', Sun stops and try to reason with Team MNVW and Team RSBR after noticing Izuku, Katsuki, and Ruby closing in on him with Pyrrha close behind.
* This comes up sometimes in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction:
** The bad guys of ''Fanfic/TheDeathOfPrincessLuna'' turn out to be [[spoiler:four delusional stallions]] who are [[KnightTemplar utterly convinced]] that [[spoiler:killing Princess Luna is the right thing to do in order to end "Nightmare Moon" once and for all]]. After they're foiled and taken into custody, nearly all of them refuse to say anything despite the evidence against them, but [[spoiler:Comet Tail]] confesses everything about their conspiracy and even identifies the one member who wasn't caught with the others. This earns him the lightest prison sentence.
** ''Fanfic/LongRoadToFriendship'': Twilight Sparkle concedes a chess match when it's clear that Sunset Shimmer is going to win. This makes Sunset even more angry at Twilight, since Sunset wanted to "crush" her.
** ''[[Fanfic/TriptychContinuum Unstable Sale]]'' centers around Apple Bloom's contemplation of this trope, as she realizes that three years of crusading for her cutie mark has just made everypony else in town hate her.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse'', after the humans successfully fight off the ponies' AssimilationPlot and manage to lay waste to much of Equestria, kill off a large number of their armed forces, and render Princess Celestia comatose after she spent the last of her power trying to protect her ponies from a brutal aerial assault, Twilight Sparkle decides to surrender the war, with the first story in the series taking place in the immediate aftermath of the war where she needs to negotiate a peace treaty with the UN to ensure the nation's continued survival.
* ''[[Fanfic/NewGamePlusOnePiece New Game Plus]]'':
** After Luffy one-shots one of the Alvida Pirates in an absurdly effective way, the two who witnessed it wisely decide to skedaddle.
** Sham and Buchi, after witnessing the fantastic Curb-Stomp Battle that decimates their crew in seconds, promptly throw themselves at Zoro’s feet and surrender.
* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeFanfic'': PlayedForLaughs. Jason Todd made every attempt to try and prevent his children, aka his Robins, from becoming vigilantes. Carrie Kelley simply ignored him and then saved his life, while Helena Wayne and Terry [=McGinnis=] [[TormentByAnnoyance tormented him via annoying music and vandalism]] respectively into training them. After his youngest son Matthew [=McGinnis=] managed to repel a home invasion when he was seven, Jason didn't even bother trying to fight him when he said he was going to be his next Robin and agreed to train him when he was older rather easily.
* In ''Fanfic/OriginStory'', after Alex Harris defeats all of the other Avengers, SHIELD and Big Bertha listen to Alex's [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou pleas to simply let her leave]].
* A general rule in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' is that a good trainer knows when to give up for their Pokémon's sake, instead of letting them get pointlessly injured.
* ''[[https://ficwad.com/story/228496 The Pride]]'': After Naruto abandons the village along with several kunoichi, Konoha pretty much decides that so long as he's not antagonizing them or allying with anyone who is, they'll just leave him be. At absolute worst, Naruto is tied for WorldsStrongestMan. Even if Sasuke could match him, something Shikamaru expresses his doubts about, he can't be on every team searching for Naruto, making the whole thing irrelevant. That another war might be brewing means that while they could certainly use Naruto's strength, they also can't spare the manpower to try and bring him in.
* ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'': When the Avengers, the X-Men, the Starjammers and a Shi'ar warship storm their hideout after ComicBook/CarolDanvers has defeated the Kree champion, the Supreme Intelligence acknowledges it has been beaten and teleports away.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9920512/1/Reaching-for-a-Dream Reaching for a Dream]]'': When Naruto arrives at the Sacred Snake Mountain to steal all the Nature Chakra there, the Snake Sage lets him, to Naruto's surprise. The Sage explains that the can either let Naruto take it, or his clan can fight Naruto and die and Naruto will do so anyway.
* ''Fanfic/TheReapingOfHatsuneMiku'': The [[VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou Reaper's Game]] consists of seven missions for the Players to complete, with the final mission being the defeat or erasure of [[BossBattle the Game Master]]. The distinction is important: several characters at various points in the series observe that if the mission is to ''defeat'' the Game Master, then the Game Master can ''admit defeat'', allowing the Players to complete their mission and letting the Reaper live ([[DeadAllAlong kinda]]). Sadly, few Game Masters do end up admitting defeat.
* Karin in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12692873/7/Return-of-the-Samsara Return of the Samsara]]'' races to raise a white flag at the Sound base she's in charge of because she can sense Naruto's coming and knows they don't have a chance against anyone with chakra that strong.
* In ''[[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-26870-2/RubyPaladin+The+Bunny+Hutch.htm A Scientific Mistake]]'', [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]] bails the moment a man named [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Dr. Banner]] warns him not to make him angry.
* ''Fanfic/SecondWind'':
** In Chapter 35, when he sees that [[spoiler:Onigumo]] and [[spoiler:Doberman]] have both been defeated, [[spoiler:Momonga]] is smart enough to stop fighting, grab them, and skedaddle.
** [[spoiler:[=CP9=]]] decide to simply leave when the Straw Hats, who'd been fighting them to a draw, are joined by Luffy and Zoro who are leagues ahead of the rest of the crew.
* ''Fanfic/ServiceWithASmile'':
** Jaune is ashamed that when four men broke into his cafe and beat and robbed him, all he could do was beg for them to stop. Upon hearing this, the Malachite twins explain that in his situation, all he could do was fight, give up, or do nothing. Alone, unarmed, and with no experience, he couldn't hope to fight against four armed men. Doing nothing, aka stoically taking the beating, would tell them they hadn't beaten him enough. The only viable option was to give up and let them know he was giving up.
** Cafe Prime eventually settles out of court with Jaune, offering half a million lien as reperation and firing Alexander Sterling who started the whole mess.
* ''Fanfic/{{Shatterheart}}'': [[spoiler:R!]]Syaoran decides to run away instead of fighting the gang attacking him as he's outnumbered from 4 to 1 and the gang ''wants'' to pick a fight and won't listen to reason. Kurogane tells him he picked the right choice.
* The World Government functionally gives up on trying to capture Vivi in ''Fanfic/ShinobiOfTheHighSeas'' by the TimeSkip as her connection to the Straw Hat Pirates isn't worth tangling with her captain (Naruto) who has escaped Kizaru twice, fought Aokiji to a draw, and [[spoiler:killed Akainu]].
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5858012/1/Sibling_Revelry Sibling Revelry]]'', Lando immediately abandons his attempt to rescue Han from Jabba and gets out of Dodge the instant Darth Vader comes to call and asks Jabba to hand Han over. He reasoned that the request was "the final boarding call for the escape train", and if Darth Vader wanted Han, there was nothing Lando could do to stop him, and Lando knows from experience what happens to people who try to refuse Darth Vader's business deals. He's the only survivor when Vader bombs Jabba's palace from orbit.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12592223/13/The-Spider The Spider]]'', a group of {{Mooks}} throw down their weapons when Spider-man points out that they're trying to fight a man who destroyed a walking tank and all they have is baseball bats.
* Captain Hina's men in ''Fanfic/StallionOfTheLine'' initially try to fight the Straw Hats after following them up the knock up stream, but once it's clear the pirates are there to help and the marine vessel can't be saved, they promptly surrender.
* After Luffy {{No Sell}}s her attack in ''Fanfic/SupernovaOnePiece'', Miss Valentine promptly surrenders, realizing she doesn't have a chance.
* In ''Fanfic/ATeachersGlory'', Team 7 decides to get Naruto medical attention after he's badly injured in the Forest of Death rather than try to continue the exam. It helps they all realize there would be plenty of promotion opportunities in the future.
* ''Fanfic/ThereWasOnceAnAvengerFromKrypton'': Vilgax's invasion of Arcadia is the last straw for the Kree, who decide to wash their hands of Earth and hand custodianship of the Sol system over to the Nova Empire instead.
* Xander advises conceding in ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-23251-16/BarefootXO+Time+and+Again.htm Time and Again]]'' if Literature/{{Harry|Potter}} finds himself in over his head during any task of the Triwizard Tournament. As Xander explains, Harry's focus should be his own survival, not points or trying to win.
* In the ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2914579/1/The_Ultimate_School_Duels The Ultimate School Duels]]'', Hassleberry folds against the OC Backfire in their duel when he realized he had no way he could win against his supreme monster. However, it was due to this action of Knowing When to Fold 'em that ultimately got him the position they both were dueling for.
* ''Fanfic/WhiteRain'': He may be an ArrogantKungFuGuy, but when trying to stop Rina's kidnapping, Yukio quickly decides that it's better for a genin like him to retreat and get backup rather than try to take on four Grass jonin at once.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10727834/8/The-World-s-End The World's End]]'', after seeing how the Scoobies have been empowered (Buffy has Zelda's magic, Willow has Xena's skills, and Xander has become a Super Saiyan), the Order of Taraka both cancel the hit on Buffy and blacklist Sunnydale, refusing to ever take a job there again.
* ''Fanfic/ZimTheWarlordIrkenReversion'': When he learns that humans are experimenting with [[PoweredByAForsakenChild Childergy]], Zim doesn't even try to stop it, noting that since they've discovered its existence, they're bound to eventually hit the critical mass moment regardless of what he does. So he decides to just let it happen, and prepares to evacuate from the planet if it results in a WorldWreckingWave.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/AlphaAndOmega:'' Having seen the attempts to stop the Temple from being rebuilt backfire, the Grand Mufti calls off further attempts, reasoning that, for whatever reason, Allah intends for the project to go forward.
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** At the end of the final battle, after it becomes clear that Tom plans to kill Visser One using his own personal Blade ship, the visser essentially surrenders to the kids once they arrive on the bridge.
** Once the Controllers on-board the Pool ship realize what has happened, they surrender to the kids in exchange for amnesty and a chance to acquire the morphing power (to permanently morph animals and move away from parasitism). The surrendered Yeerks got off quite well, all things considered.
** In ''The Capture'' this is revealed to be a major tenet of Yeerk psychology: Yeerks will give up when the odds don't favor them rather that fight against impossible odds as humans do. This semi-defeatist mindset is presented to explain away the BondVillainStupidity of Jake's Yeerk, but later books are consistent with this, as it comes up again in ''Visser'' and ''The Answer''.
* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' examines this trope with Dagny's obstinate refusal to abandon Taggart Transcontinental as a lost cause, despite all the evidence of its decline and predictions of its imminent demise (which turn out to be true). Dagny is eventually convinced to leave it all behind, but Eddie Willers never learns to leave the dying railroad/dying world and presumably dies with it.
* In the ''Literature/CherubSeries'', this is part of the recruiting process for CHERUB. The potential recruit will be given an extremely difficult task. Succeeding anyway is obviously good, but what they're actually looking for is the ability for recruits to assess a situation and determine if it's a bad idea to try in the first place. In James's case they do it twice, first they have him fight another teenager who's trained in martial arts and, after getting beaten in the first round, he gives up. After that they give him a task to retrieve a brick from the bottom of a pool, knowing he has a fear of water, which he refuses to do. In both instances this was what they wanted.
* Creator/DianaWynneJones's ''Literature/CharmedLife'' has a garden that stays the same distance away no matter how long you travel towards it. It is bespelled so as to be inaccessible to people trying to reach it, so those trying to enter only succeeded when they had given up on doing so.
* This trope may be the single great reason Literature/CiaphasCain has survived as long as he has: in a universe where pretty much everything wants to eat your face and your enemies are without number, he is fully capable of recognizing when it's time to get the hell out of Dodge. Two incidents in particular are noteworthy. In both ''Caves of Ice'' and ''Cain's Last Stand'', Cain is going head-to-head with the enemies of the Imperium in a desperate defensive battle... right up until he finds out that the [[TheDreaded Necrons]] have entered the fray, at which point he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere immediately and completely retreats.]] Even the Inquisition representative who debriefs him admits that he just would've gotten the entire regiment killed if he'd tried to hold his ground.
* A ''Series/DoctorWho'' short story, ''Useless Things'', involves an alien invasion arrive on Earth, notice a police box on the street corner, realize that this is the calling card of the Doctor, who has a history of soundly defeating alien invaders like themselves, and wisely decide to get the hell out of Dodge as fast as possible. It's subverted; minutes after they leave, workmen arrive and remove what turns out to be an ''actual'' police box, the last of its kind to be removed in Britain.
* The mountain in ''The Farthest-Away Mountain'', which would always stay the same distance away as long as you kept going toward it. You had to turn around and go the other way to get there.
* ''Literature/FireAndBlood:''
** Happens a lot during Aegon's Conquest, especially once word of what the dragons can do gets around. The last Stark king is forever remembered as "The King Who Knelt", but not a single Northerner gets toasted by Aegon's dragons. Surrendering also meant that the Starks got to keep their rule of the North (albeit as "Lord Paramount" instead of King), this allowed the North to go through less cultural upheaval than the other kingdoms. Pretty fair price to pay, all told.
** Happens to Aegon himself a little later on, though, with Dorne. His attempts to conquer it go nowhere, and his beloved sister-wife goes missing. Eventually Dorne sends a letter to him. Whatever the contents, he immediately stops trying to burn them down immediately, and an uneasy peace is brokered between Dorne and the rest of Westeros.
** During the Dance of the Dragons, Queen Rhaenyra takes King's Landing, and has Queen Allicent brought to her in chains. Allicent suggests if Rhae wants a crown, when she was her father's named choice of heir, then they could split Westeros in two (Allicent's kids get the "good" parts, obviously). Rhaenyra offers another choice -- give up or die. Allicent chooses to give up.
** ''Not'' knowing when to do this causes the death of Aegon II. Having killed Rhaenyra and taken the crown, his army is depleted and losing, and whatever loyalists he has can't get there in time. Some of his councilors suggest surrendering, and hoping Rhaenyra's son Aegon will let him join the Night's Watch. According to the records, Aegon II was giving it serious consideration... until his mother, Queen Allicent speaks up and suggests that he instead start cutting young Aegon to pieces as a warning. Aegon II decides that's a fantastic idea, but before he can do it, catches a sudden case of dead, because his councilors have gotten so ''fed up'' of the whole mess, and poison him themselves.
** During the regency of Aegon III, Baela Targaryen proves to be a handful for the regents. When they're worried about the line of succession (since Aegon is quite young, and there's a DecadentCourt around, and no other male heirs they know of), they think maybe it's time to marry Baela off. She rejects their first choice of husband, and is locked up. The next morning, it turns out she's escaped, and by the time they find her, she's already married her cousin, Alyn Velaryon. At this point, the regents throw up their hands and decide it's best just to act like that was the plan all along.
* In Meredith Ann Pierce's ''Literature/TheFirebringerTrilogy'', the greatest and most legendary figure in the history of the unicorns is the princess Halla. Four hundred years before the events of the books Halla's people's lands were invaded by wyverns, first in secret, then in open warfare. When it becomes clear that the wyverns are too dangerous to continue fighting (they have poisonous stings and what amounts to armor under the skin), Halla orders the unicorns to withdraw and leave their lands to the wyverns until the time comes that the unicorns are capable of meeting them in more evenly matched combat. The main character of the Trilogy's been raised on her story all his life, but still can't quite stomach the part of the legend where Halla orders the retreat for the sake of survival.
* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'': Jay Gatsby's FatalFlaw and the downside of his own great capacity for Hope is his inability to move on. He continues to cling to the hope that Daisy will one day be with him so that he can have the HappyEnding he had wanted for so long. It doesn't happen.
* A mark of a good officer in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series is knowing when it's best to do this. A clear line is drawn between knowing when to fold 'em, knowing when you ''can't'' fold and must [[HeroicSacrifice fight until the end]], and doing the latter to avoid being seen as a coward for doing the former.
** A specific instance occurs in ''Echoes of Honor.'' A surprise Havenite attack catches the less than competent Rear Admiral Elvis Santino completely flat-footed. His operations officer, Andrea Jaruwalski, tries to get him to fold, surrendering the system they don't need in the face of a vastly superior force. Santino responds by relieving Jaruwalski of her position and sending her away with enough of a black spot on her record to sabotage her career, then calling up his command to meet the Havenite attack. Santino's command is mostly destroyed while Jaruwalski eventually has her career salvaged with the help of Honor Harrington herself.
** Conflicts with the Solarian League, in which the Manticoran forces are so much more advanced technologically they can {{Curb Stomp|Battle}} vastly more numerous Solarian forces with ease, often feature the Manticorans trying to get the Solly commanders to realize they need to do this. The success rate varies depending on how TooDumbToLive the arrogant Solarian commanders are.
* ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober''. The Soviet admiral orders the fleet to avoid harassing the Americans after a heavy cruiser is subjected to a mock attack. He knows the Soviet navy is wasting time that is needed to find the Red October and will be destroyed if the Americans decide to attack for real. The American admiral later says: "they make the first move, we up the ante, they just plain fold."
* ''{{Literature/Jingo}}'' appears to feature this, with Vetinari surrendering to Klatchian forces and giving them huge advantages in exchange for letting them all go home, with the treaty to be signed on the island of Leshp. [[spoiler:A week or so later, as Vetinari is on trial for treason, he innocuously asks what treaty they're talking about, since it needed to be signed on Leshp, which has just sunk back under the ocean.]]
* In the Literature/LeftBehind book ''Glorious Appearing'', a good deal of the Global Community armed forces not situated in the Holy Land at the time of the battle of Armageddon, who realize that they are without any resources coming from New Babylon to make sure they're paid (all because said city is destroyed), decide that they might as well quit even though they face a court martial for doing so.
* ''Literature/MobyDick'': Captain Boomer lost his arm to Moby Dick, but unlike Ahab is smart enough to realize going for round two isn't a good idea and just moved on.
* The children's book ''Literature/NuddyNed'' has the title character decide to run around naked in public, with his parents desperately trying to get their son to put clothes on. In the end, they concede that they can't get their son to change his opinion on nudity and even start joining him in running around naked.
* ''Literature/{{Pale}}'': Marie Durocher's binding class, in which she releases a dangerous bound Other that threatens to kill all the students and leaves it to her apprentice to restrain it, is intended to teach this lesson:
-->'''Durocher''': I told you the right answer early on. If you face something this big and you’re not certain of what it is and how to deal with it, you should question how you got to that position. The first rule of self preservation, even if you’re as capable as I, Mr. Belanger, Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Bristow, or Mr. Musser are, is that you should run when outmatched.
* ''Literature/RWBYBeforeTheDawn'' reveals a strong connection of this trope with RunOrDie: once Beacon was attacked by the huge Grimm army, Nolan decided he was better off fleeing the place. As a result, he's the SoleSurvivor of his team, as the other three died in the battle, leading to strong SurvivorsGuilt.
* ''Literature/{{Sandokan}}'': The titular character will try and avoid a battle he can't win, and retreat when he gets his ass kicked, if only to return in force and take revenge.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': Violet realizes that their climb to the ascending hot air balloon in ''The Vile Village'' is dangerous and forces her siblings back to the ground so they won't get hurt, even though the Quagmires are on the balloon and it is designed never to return to ground.
* In ''Literature/ShamanBlues'', when the Old Ones see Vulture basically blow the afterlife's door wide open to rescue Witkacy, they wisely decide to give up on attempting to claim their "prize" and retreat.
* ''[[Literature/SisterhoodSeries Sisterhood]]'' series by Creator/FernMichaels: Owen Orzell in ''Home Free'' knew that he had no chance of winning once the Vigilantes caught him. As bonus points, he reveals that he gambles, tries to be very careful not to get addicted, and so he would clearly understand this trope very well.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', roughly three hundred of years before the start of the series, King Torrhen of House Stark took enough time to raise his army (the North ''is'' huge) that got a good look at how Aegon Targaryen was [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] all the Andal and Ironborn kingdoms to the south of his, and wisely bent the knee as soon as Aegon the Conqueror turned his attention towards the North's army.
* The Creator/DianeDuane novel ''Literature/SpocksWorld'', combined with the story to which it is a sequel, teaches this. The BigBad begins brooding over things not going precisely according to plan. The attempt to fix this undoes all accomplishments from the last time and the BigBad ends up in prison.
* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] novel ''Kobayashi Maru'', this is essentially Sulu's resolution. He decides the whole thing is a trap and elects not to enter the Neutral Zone.
* In ''Literature/ThisImmortal'', the reasoning behind Conrad's leaving his identity as Konstantin Karaghiosis and the [[LaResistance Returnist movement]] behind was that there comes a point when one's achieved what one could achieve and it's time to move on. Dos Santos and especially Diane, who figures out Conrad's former identity, disagree.
* The Thrawn books, by Creator/TimothyZahn:
** ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Thrawn knows when a battle has been lost and, unlike [[CardCarryingVillain most Imperial commanders]], withdraws without wasting his men -- sure, [[WeHaveReserves he's got reserves]], but why spend them without a need? Pellaeon, back during the Battle of Endor, had found himself to be the highest-ranked survivor and had ordered the retreat.
---> '''Thrawn''': "You were expecting, perhaps, that I'd order an all-out attack? That I would seek to cover our defeat in a frenzy of false and futile heroics?"
---> '''Pellaeon''': "Of course not."
---> '''Thrawn''': "We haven't been defeated, Captain. Merely slowed down a bit."
** This then comes up again at the end of the trilogy. [[spoiler:Once Thrawn is assassinated, Pellaeon realizes the Imperial forces will not be able to defeat the New Republic without Thrawn's tactical genius. So he orders a retreat rather than needlessly waste lives]].
** During the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, Pellaeon was the one to look at his [[VestigialEmpire Imperial Remnant]] and decide to [[PeaceConference make peace with the New Republic]], ending the war.
* The smarter villains in the Expanded Universe have this as part of their ''modus operandi''. Zsinj in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Solo Command]]'' even mentions avoiding "[[SunkCostFallacy throwing good money after bad]]" when invoking this trope.
** The novel ''The Bacta War'' has a variant. When told that his defeat is now inevitable by Wedge Antilles, the commander of the ''Lusankya'' refuses to give in, and decides to ColonyDrop his ship on a nearby planet as a final fuck you to the New Republic. One of his bridge officers then shoots him, takes command, and declares that he's willing to surrender if the Republic fleet is willing to tow the wreck of his ship into a higher orbit so that it won't crash of its own accord.
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'' Lazarus Long ascribes his survival for over 2300 years largely to the practical application of this kind of common sense, and the one time he fails at it is the time Death nearly catches up to him.
* This is the hat of the Raven Guard in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. In the Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Deliverance Lost'', Corax specifically states that because his legion is smaller than the others, they would not survive a mass frontal assault on the traitor forces, and must rely on hit and run attacks.
* A continuing theme in Kelley Armstrong's ''[[Literature/TheOtherworld Women of the Otherworld]]'' series is that sometimes you have to abandon an ambition in order to achieve other ambitions and/or live a fulfilling life. The main character of "Bitten", the first book, spends her character development deciding which of her conflicting desires to pursue and which to abandon. In later books, the trope is more subtle, but still reoccurs often.
* In Creator/LFrankBaum's ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' as a subtext -- the Lion is deeply afraid of the Kelidas roaming the forest, and does his best to avoid them... but the fact that they're twice his size and have the heads of tigers and the bodies of bears suggests that avoiding them might be the smart thing to do until you can find a better way of handling it, which the Lion does with the help of Dorothy and her friends.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* This is what makes the Dynamic Duo suspicious in the ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' episode "The Greatest Mother of Them All". Not only are all the members of the Parker crime family [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle captured before the end]] of the first installment of the usual two-parter, but they are all nabbed with ridiculous ease (especially the daughter, who throws her hands up as soon as Batman and Robin ''see'' her). Turns out it was too good to be true: the Parkers were not afraid of going to jail because Ma Parker had been slowly infiltrating the penitentiary with criminals disguised as guards until Warden Crichton had been the only non-corrupt person left -- and Ma then had the "guards" turn on Crichton and bully him into making ''her'' the new warden. [[PoisonousCaptive The Parkers gain total control of the prison]], "breaking out" as often as they wish to commit robberies.
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'':
** Practically a catchphrase of Commander Adama. In the miniseries pilot Roslin convinces Adama that retaking The Colonies is hopeless, and their best hope is to escort humanity's survivors somewhere safe from the Cylons. In ''You Can't Go Home Again'', Adama is forced to concede that the search and rescue mission for Starbuck is hopeless. And in ''Lay Down Your Burdens'', Lee makes the point that two ships with skeleton crews cannot hope to hold off a Cylon invasion fleet, so their best chance is to escape with what they can at the moment and come back when they have a clear plan and better odds.
** The reason Tom Zarek was such a thorn in Roslin and Adama's side for all four seasons, is that he recognized when he shouldn't overextend himself, and was simply smart enough to quit while he was relatively ahead. For example he wanted to assassinate Roslin outside the Tomb of Athena, but once Commander Adama and his men showed up he realized it was too risky and simply dropped the plan. One of Zarek's goons even urges that they go through with it anyway, but Zarek cites this trope... the goon tries on his own initiative, and gets killed.
* This comes up in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'', too. Commander Cain (Lloyd Bridges) is in command of the other surviving Battlestar, the ''Pegasus'', and wants to launch an offensive. Cain is brilliant, but wrong; as Adama (Lorne Greene) points out, two Battlestars, encumbered by a refugee fleet that is essentially defenseless and that houses the last survivors of their people, can't win a war against the Cylon Empire. They must run or die, and Cain eventually realizes that Adama is right.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** [[BunnyEarsLawyer Saul]] [[HonestJohnsDealership Goodman]] is one [[AmoralAttorney morally dubious]] character who knows ''exactly'' how this song goes. He knows when to beg for his life. He knows when to negotiate while holding his ground. He knows when to seemingly give most of that ground up without actually giving anything of real value... [[spoiler: and he [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere knows exactly when to drop everything and get the hell out of Dodge.]] ]] As a result, he's [[spoiler: the closest to a KarmaHoudini the show has when it comes to core characters]].
** Late in the series, [[spoiler:Mike Ehrmantraut decides that working with Walt is far too risky: the DEA had seized the hush money for his associates and the trust fund he set aside for his granddaughter, and he is being watched very closely by the authorities. As a result, he decides to call it quits and sell out his share of Walt's business. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to get away with it like Saul does: he is forced to flee without saying goodbye to his family, shot by Walt not long after, and has his body destroyed in acid]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Some of the smarter monsters who know who Buffy is usually skaddle upon either seeing her, or at the least, seeing some of their fellow monsters get killed.
** "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E3SchoolHard School Hard]]": A newly turned vampire named Sheila Martini tried to ambush Buffy from behind, only to be thwarted by a timely warning from Giles. After seeing Buffy kill a fellow vampire, Sheila wisely turns tail. She just lost her humanity to Drusilla, so likely getting killed ''again'' didn't appeal to her.
** In another ep, Buffy and Willow are at a graveyard waiting for a newly turned vampire to climb out of his grave. They get to talking, not noticing said vampire doing exactly that. The vampire is about to attack them... until he notices the stakes near Buffy. Realizing she's the slayer, the vampire quietly leaves the area before he's noticed.
** Buffy makes her way into a den of vampires. They're about to attack her when one of the vamps recognizes her and yells out "Slayer!". To which the ''whole room'' clears out.
* In ''Series/CanadasWorstDriver'', two drivers (Jason from Season 3 and Mike from Season 5) gave up driving for good. Aaron from Season 7 came in ready to do so to [[spoiler: (as it turned out, he didn't have to)]].
** In the Finnish version, the judges decided to let one contestant go, because there was absolutely nothing they could do to help him.[[note]]He was a very good driver, but incredibly reckless. He was sent to a therapist instead.[[/note]]
** In Season 4, the panel sent Donna home after learning she had a dangerous heart condition and wasn't safe to be driving.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** Most of the time, "Run Away" is the initial tactic while trying to figure out their plan of defeating the enemy of the week. The Doctor has been known to give this option to aliens as well, politely informing them just ''who'' they are dealing with.
--->'''Eleventh Doctor:''' Hello, I'm [[TheDreaded the Doctor]]. Basically... ''run''.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestofTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]]: The microscopic Vashta Nerada stop their assault on the Doctor and his companions and allow him to free all the people saved in the computer and leave with two sentences.
--->'''The Tenth Doctor:''' I'm the Doctor, and we're in the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]]: The Doctor invokes this as his form of CruelMercy to the Colonel leading the army of the Silence at Demons Run. The Doctor wants him to give the order "Run Away", so that for the rest of his life, those infamous words will haunt him and people will mock him for being "Colonel Runaway".
--->'''Madame Kovarian:''' Give the order... give the order, "''Colonel Runaway!''"
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E6Extremis "Extremis"]]: The Doctor again convinces someone to run away by asking them to look him up. In the Fatality Index, under "cause of death", which reveals "a truly remarkable record" that overwhelms the display device. The executioner holding it runs off with, "Have a nice day, then."
* In the 2019 series of ''Literature/TheDemonHeadmaster'', the Headmaster is ordered to abandon his plans by [[spoiler:the original Headmaster]], as there is no way to implement their agenda after Lizzie Warren and her gang have exposed his plans on live television and Dinah has contacted her associates at [=MI6=].
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Ross refuses to pay extra to have his new couch delivered, calling it a scam. After he and his friends destroy the couch trying to get it up to his apartment, he brings it back to the store and tries to return it.
-->'''Store clerk:''' Are you trying to tell me that the couch was ''delivered'' to you in this condition?\\
'''Ross:''' ''[obviously avoiding the question]'' I am a reasonable man; I will accept store credit.\\
'''Store clerk:''' I will give you store credit in the amount of five dollars.\\
'''Ross:''' ...I will take it.
** In one Thanksgiving episode Ross fails at a game of listing as many of the States as possible in one minute. He declares that he can get them all before dinner, and doesn't get any food until he's done. By 3AM he's so hungry he decides he no longer cares that his list is still one short and tucks into the leftovers.
* ''Series/ForgedInFire'': This is a very common trait for the contestants, who know when it's a good time to abandon the metal they were working on and start over.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** In "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS4E6TheLawsOfGodsAndMen The Laws of Gods and Men]]", Yara Greyjoy aborts her mission to rescue Theon when she realizes how utterly broken he is, saying her brother is "dead".
** In "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS4E10TheChildren The Children]]", Mance surrenders when Stannis' army arrives at the Wall. He knows he can't beat Stannis' forces, and he doesn't want to see his people slaughtered.
** In the ''History and Lore'' segments, House Tyrell is said to have risen to power in the wake of Aegon's Conquest by agreeing to surrender. They also agreed to surrender without a fight after the sack of King's Landing at the end of Robert's Rebellion. The King in the North Torrhen Stark did likewise to spare his army the same fate as the combined Lannister/Gardener army at the Field of Fire, which had 4000 men burned alive by Aegon's dragons. Henceforth Torrhen was known as the king who knelt.
** Bronn, ever the pragmatic mercenary, knows that being selective about which fights to pick keeps his chances of death low.
*** During a fight with a Dothraki screamer, his bag of Golden Dragons spills onto the floor. He gives it a longing look... before giving it up for lost and focusing his efforts on dispatching the Dothraki.
*** He has no shame admitting to Tyrion Lannister he is afraid of the Mountain and decides unless Tyrion can offer a better deal he is not risking a fight with him.
*** He emphatically informs his employer Jaime Lannister that "dragons are where our partnership ends." Having seen one of the beasts [[CurbStompBattle in action]], he knows perfectly well that that confrontation would likely leave him incinerated.
** In "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS5E3HighSparrow High Sparrow]]", after beating his rival Alliser Thorne to the position of Lord Commander, Jon Snow graciously promotes him to a key command position. However, Thorne's key ally Janos Slynt refuses a direct order immediately afterward, prompting Snow to order his execution. Thorne stands to block the guards for a moment, clearly thinking about defending Janos, but ultimately decides he has more to lose than gain and steps aside.
* ''Series/IditarodTheToughestRaceOnEarth'' shows how important this is to sled-dog mushing. For the mushers, good judgment about this is essential -- if mushers push their team too hard, they risk getting stranded in the Alaska wilderness. And, to mushers worth their salt, [[TrueCompanions risking the life and health of their dogs is not worth any race.]]
* In ''Island at War'', British forces withdraw from an indefensible fictional Channel Island at the approach of the German invasion, without bothering to officially surrender, leaving the civilian population to attack and Nazi occupation. This proves unpopular with the public in England, and the government sends intelligence agents to scout the possibility of retaking the island. The de facto mayor is forced to argue against the liberation of his island, pointing out that it would be a hopeless waste of British lives and end in a harsher German occupation, and counsels the spies (one of whom is his own son) to give themselves up as [=POWs=].
* Many a time on ''Series/KitchenNightmares'', Gordon Ramsay has threatened to leave when an owner acts up. But in the infamous [[Recap/KitchenNightmaresS6E15AmysBakingCompany Amy's Baking Company]] episode, Gordon meets a pair of owners who steal tips from their staff, insult and scream at customers and are in complete denial over their horrible food. Realizing there's absolutely no way these two nutjobs are going to listen to him, Gordon, for the only time in the series, throws up his hands and quits as this place is beyond saving.
* The episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' where Reese gets driving lessons. The A-plot involves Reese's annoying co-student not letting him have any time behind the wheel -- and when he finally gets his chance, someone rear-ends him by mistake. He assumes he caused the crash, panics, and ends up being followed by the police. The B-plot consists of Francis coming up with increasingly paper-thin excuses to get himself out of trouble. When Reese calls Francis for advice, Francis at first encourages him to keep looking for a way out -- then, as everyone he's lied to marches into the room, he admits that sometimes the best you can do is end things "with class". This inspires Reese to return to the driving school, complete the obstacle course flawlessly, and then give himself up.
* Master Vile in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. [[GenreSavvy He actually realized fairly quickly that he wasn't going to beat the Power Rangers, and he'd be better off cutting his losses and going home to his galaxy, where evil always wins.]] Despite this, he actually fared impressively well against the Power Rangers. His first monster had them on the ropes for three episodes until they figured out its weakness, his second monster required the use of a never-before-seen ultrazord configuration to defeat, and his third plan involved a self-destructing time reversal device that didn't have the same pitfalls as Zedd's attempt, which required a long 10 episode arc to fix, and Vile actually left only two episodes into that arc.
* In the Creator/JohnCleese episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', Cleese is refusing to appear on "Pigs in Space", citing his contract, which says he will only work with Kermit, Fozzie and "the ugly, disgusting little one who catches cannonballs" (Gonzo). When a monster eats his contract, Cleese demands to see his agent...at which point the camera shows another monster has eaten the agent. Cleese immediately opts to cut his losses and do "Pigs in Space".
* ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'': in "[[Recap/ObiWanKenobiPartVI Part VI]]" Vader does this after the Emperor [[ImpliedDeathThreat implies that Vader will be replaced]] if he doesn't stop his monomanical pursuit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even though the threat itself was left unspoken, Vader knows the Emperor won't tolerate him continuing the pursuit, so he declares that Kenobi "means nothing" and affirms his alleigence to Sidious.
* This frequently happens on ''Series/PawnStars'' to both the customers and the pawnbrokers alike when they're negotiating on a price for the customer's item. One of the parties will make a final offer when it comes to how much they'll pay or accept for the item, and then the other party has to decide whether to accept this final offer or simply break off the negotiations without making a deal.
* ''Series/RiseOfEmpiresOttoman'': The historians in the series speculate why Giustiniani left the battle during the siege's final hours. Most likely, he didn't think victory was possible anymore and he was already wounded anyway. He's also a mercenary, not a Roman citizen, so there's no real point to him continuing to fight if his employers won't be there to pay him.
* In ''Series/TheSopranos'', Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. is a clear loser in the mob war, and yet in some ways also the winner; after taking harsh losses, he decides to concede defeat and leave organized crime altogether. He is one of the few characters who ends the series safe and happy.
* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' Season 2 episode "Twisted", a strange energy field begins to overtake the ship, causing crucial systems to fail and the layout of the ship to warp. Crew members who come into contact with the field become delirious. After their efforts to prevent the energy field from expanding only make things worse, Tuvok recommends giving up and seeing what happens. Eventually, the field disperses, everything is returned to normal and the crew find a massive amount of data in their computers -- evidence that the energy field was just trying to communicate.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** Garak tells it to Bashir during a Film/JamesBond simulation on the holodeck, reinforcing his status as a MagnificentBastard.
--> '''Garak:''' ''"There comes a time when the odds are against you and the only reasonable course of action is to quit! That's why I managed to stay alive, while most of my colleagues are dead! Because I know when to '''[[https://www.youtube.com/user/mrs260#p/u/5/RpR6iNBZdhw walk away."]]'''''
** Starfleet abandoning the Deep Space Nine station.
** Likewise when the Dominion abandoned the station.
--> '''Weyoun:''' ''"Time to start packing!"''
** Shortly before the events of the show, the Cardassian Empire took this tack with their occupation of Bajor. A tenacious LaResistance combined with mounting political pressure back home made the planet too hot to hold.
** Despite being KungFuJesus for a ProudWarriorRace, Kahless himself had this as one of his sayings: "Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat."
* ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'': Once Alien Mefilas acknowledges that his and Ultraman's powers are too evenly matched, he calls off the fight, declares that he will return to conquer the Earth another time and teleports out.
* Averted and lampshaded in ''Series/VRTroopers'': an unusually tough MonsterOfTheWeek named Graybot who disguised himself as a human to gain their trust before betraying them is winning against Ryan Steele. Eventually, Ryan uses the lightning hand command, which generally kills bots, (those who survive it are damaged or weakened and will often retreat to make repairs). Graybot, however, doesn't and continues to battle despite his injuries, Ryan points out that Graybot doesn't know when to quit. Rather than listen to his foe's advice and retreat to the Virtual Dungeon for repairs, [[{{Determinator}} he keeps fighting until]] [[TooDumbToLive he eventually wears himself, overheats, collapses from exhaustion, and explodes]]. Essentially, his own pride prevented him from having a chance at a rematch with Ryan.

[[folder:Music]]
* The {{Trope Namer|s}} of course is Music/KennyRogers's "The Gambler", which wavers back and forth between being a LiteralMetaphor about a poker game and a MoralityBallad about pragmatism.
* Music/IngridMichaelson's "Once Was Love" is about a couple breaking up when they realize they don't feel love for each other and that isn't going to change.
-->''"We can't hold us anymore/No, we've got to fold down to the floor"''
* The story in Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina" involves the rapper trying to use the eponymous love potion to find a girlfriend, but it works only too well. The first girl he dates as a result of it is a man in drag, and the second comes on ''way'' too strong, wanting to marry him. Eventually, he has enough and pours the rest of the potion down the drain.
* In a filk titled Jirel of Joiry an Evil Overlord is told of Jirel's deeds and promptly decides "He who would rule does not squander his strength so I think we'll leave Joiry alone."..

[[folder:Poetry]]
* The Parsian poet Archilochus wrote an elegy on the subject, possibly in response to the popular Spartan saying of "come home with your shield or on it".
-->One of the Saiôn in Thrace now delights in the shield I discarded\\
Unwillingly near a bush, for it was perfectly good,\\
But at least I got myself safely out. Why should I care for that shield?\\
Let it go. Some other time I'll find another no worse.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* [[BrainsEvilBrawnGood Most]] {{heel}}s, when faced with a situation they can't overcome, will try and employ some method of escape, such as intentionally getting themselves counted out or disqualified. Especially if they're defending a title, as normally they can't lose the title that way. This sometimes backfires if a face authority figure counters this by restarting the match under [=no-countout/no-DQ=] rules or threatening to (if not actually) declare the walkout a forfeit (which ''does'' allow a title to change hands) if the heel doesn't return to the ring. If the champion is an AntiHero face that pulls an intentional disqualification, the heel challenger may take advantage of this in their next meeting with a stipulation where if the champion tries to lose the match by intentional disqualification, he loses the title as if by submission or pinfall, or the challenger may have the [=GM=] ban a certain move. Other times, other faces may block off the heel's retreat, also forcing him back into the ring.
* How Wrestling/TheIronSheik won his WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/BobBacklund, trapping Backlund -- who came into the match with an ({{Kayfabe}}) injured back -- in his dreaded Camel Clutch and pulling severely. Backlund refused to submit, but, fearing for his well being, manager Arnold Skaaland threw a towel into the ring, asking the match be stopped. (This, of course, set up the Iron Shiek to lose his title to newcomer Wrestling/HulkHogan.)\\
\\
Things came full circle in 1994 when Backlund -- having returned to the WWF as an embittered heel -- regained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Wrestling/BretHart, after trapping him in his crossface chicken wing for several minutes, Hart refusing to submit and Hart's mother, Helen, throwing in the towel, convinced to do so by Hart's younger brother, Owen (who was, unknown to everybody, feigning concern). Days later, Backlund lost the title again ... and he didn't lose it [[Wrestling/KevinNash because someone threw in the towel]].
* Seen often in matches between Wrestling/WilliamRegal and Wrestling/ChrisBenoit. When Benoit went for the Crossface, Regal would try to block the arm and resist as much as possible, but ''the'' moment it was locked in, Regal would tap out to avoid prolonged punishment.
* Wrestling/SantinoMarella once faced off against Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/JohnCena in a battle royale at a house show. After literally bouncing off of the two men when he attempted to clothesline them both, he conceded the match, grabbed himself by the trunks, and threw himself out of the ring. Wrestling/BigShow could be seen visibly laughing in one corner of the ring.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion]]
* ''Literature/TheBible'': In the Literature/BookOfJeremiah, the titular prophet, who was living in the last years of the kingdom of Judah's existence that ended with the Babylonian invasion, advises its final king Zedekiah to submit unto the Babylonians so that Jerusalem would be spared and all its remaining citizens would not have to be taken into exile, since God was not going to halt pouring out His wrath upon His people. For this, he was considered TheQuisling and thus his advice went unheeded, as after a long siege upon Jerusalem King Zedekiah tried to make an escape, but was captured by the Babylonians and brought to Riblah where King Nebuchanezzar passed sentence on him, and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed along with its Temple, and most of its remaining citizens (except the poorest of the land) were taken into captivity.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''[[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Art of Fighting 2]]'': [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese]] learned a painful lesson, courtesy of Ryo Sakazaki, when they fought each other during the finals of the very first ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters]]'' tournament. Ryo was out for revenge and [[LaserGuidedKarma handed Geese's ass to him on a silver platter.]] But just as he'd been about to deliver the coup de grace (i.e. the Haoh Shoko Ken), Geese [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere chose to forfeit and hauled ass.]]
* This happens to two villains in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'':
** A diary belonging to Calendar Man revealed he planned to strike on Halloween, going with his usual MO, but decided otherwise when the Scarecrow struck.
** Bane's fate after ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': [[spoiler:detoxed himself of the Titan, decided going round three with the Batman was stupid and went back home to Santa Prisca with the much easier goal of overthrowing its corrupt government]].
* ''VideoGame/ConvictionSRPG'': If Grace, the boss of chapter 19A, is reduced to 1 HP, he will insist on fighting to the end, but one of his subordinates will force him to retreat for his own safety.
* ''VideoGame/CorruptionOfLaetitia'': If the party is overleveled against a non-boss foe, that foe has a chance of running away. This effectively serves as AntiGrinding to prevent them from getting overleveled for the next story boss, since foes won't give EXP if they flee.
* One of the more valuable lessons to learn in ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' is when to abandon a failing run and preserve your heroes for a later mission. They'll take some stress, but they'll survive, and if the run was going badly they were probably going to need some quality time in the temple or the tavern anyway.
* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the heroes make a battle plan where King Cailan will lure the Darkspawn into a trap, you and Alistair will light a signal fire, and Teryn Loghain will outflank the Darkspawn. However, when you actually light the fire, Loghain abandons you. It's heavily debated both in-universe and out whether this trope was legitimately in play (the front line was already breaking down and it was too late to save Cailan) or whether it was a BetrayalByInaction.
* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce EXTRAPOWER Attack of Darkforce]]'': The [[RecurringBoss recurring bosses]] always manage to escape the moment the momentum of battle turns against them. Usually this is when enough [[{{Mook}} mooks]] have been defeated, especially the earlier fights where CoDragons Mensouma or Undata are impossible for the players to even scratch. Sometimes it's a DualBoss, and the defeat of one will mean both run away. Even if you manage to beat them before their [[{{Mook}} mooks]] or manage to beat both pairs of a DualBoss in the same round, they'll slip through the player's clutches until the next time.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has this as the central theme in the ''Dead Money'' expansion. Everyone has an obsession that drives them to the Sierra Madre, and only in letting go do they find relief.
** Christine's sole goal is to kill Elijah for what he did to her and The Brotherhood of Steel.
** Dean Domino has been trying to break into the Sierra Madre for ''over two centuries''.
** Dog and God just want to control the body that both personalities inhabit.
** Elijah wants all the technology in the Sierra Madre Vault to rebuild and rule the wasteland. (You have the option of granting his wish -- by [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor permanently sealing him in the vault]].)
** Even The Courier can run into this, as the Vault is filled with ammo, arms, armor, and gold ingots worth a fortune; but taking too much will slow you down so that you can barely move -- while the timer on your explosive collar ticks down.
--->'''Elijah''': Getting in isn't the hard part...\\
'''Christine''': ...it's letting go.\\
'''Dog''': ...it's letting go.\\
'''God''': ...it's letting go.\\
'''Dean Domino''': ...it's letting go.\\
'''Elijah''': ...it's letting go.
* Kefka in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is rarely willing to continue fighting through a ''single attack'' unless it behooves him to keep fighting, and when it's clear he can't win a fight he'll retreat with [[WeWillMeetAgain some childish threats]]. If not fighting at all is an option, he'll opt for that and instead rely on hiding behind henchmen or [[MoralEventHorizon poisoning water supplies]]. Since he's actually not very powerful, unlike most major villains from the series, it's probably the only reason he survives long enough [[spoiler:to ''become'' very powerful from abusing Magicite, Espers, and the Warring Triad. Once he has his [[GodhoodSeeker God-tier power]] and has [[TheBadGuyWins destroyed and conquered the world]], he's naturally no longer willing to run and [[FinalBoss will fight to the bitter end]].]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'': In the mission "Malicious Goons", three of Don Corneo's mooks sic a [[KillerRabbit Tonberry]] on the heroes. When they manage to kill it, they immediately surrender.
* One of the {{Non Standard Game Over}}s in ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'' is the Bankruptcy ending, where Tutorial Unit essentially tells you this before you're fired[[spoiler: [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou and the game force-quits on you, clearing your save file of anything but any certificates you've earned, including the Certificate of Bankruptcy you earn for this very ending]]]].
-->'''Tutorial Unit:''' While we encourage entrepreneurs to follow their dreams, we also recognize a lost cause when we see one.
* This is the [[WordOfGod stated reason]] for Lord Brevon's absence in ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2'': thanks to the beating he received in [[VideoGame/FreedomPlanet the first game]], he decides that Avalice and the [[MineralMacGuffin Kingdom Stone]] simply aren't worth risking another beating from [[ActionGirl Lilac and Carol]] when he already has an interstellar empire to rule.
* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'': During the Silverwind Stretch arc, Io, Eugen and Rosetta are saved from an avalanche by Orchid while everyone else was caught in the avalanche and separated. With Orchid exhausted from the effort, soldiers quickly moving in to surround them, and the cold weather not getting better, Eugen decides the best course of action is to surrender.
* Invoked in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd -REVELATOR-'' for Dizzy's [[OneHitKill Instant-Kill Attack]]: one of Dizzy's sentient wings, Necro, attempts to kill the opponent with a powerful blast. Dizzy manages to push Necro enough so the attack barely misses, but the resulting explosion and mushroom cloud behind the opponent causes them to give up. Instead of the screen reading "DESTROYED" like with other Instant-Kill Attacks, the screen reads "SURRENDERED".
* ''VideoGame/GwentTheWitcherCardGame'': An important skill is knowing when to stop playing cards and when to allow your opponent to win the current round so you have enough strength remaining to win the game. There are multiple cards that can get you an advantage should you lose the round:
** Ciri is not very impressive by herself, having 4 strength while taking up a large amount of precious deckbuilding provisions. However, should you lose the round in which you played her, she returns to your hand instead of going to the graveyard. 4 strength might not be much, but the value she poses as an additional card to play makes her ability powerful.
** It's also useful to try making your opponent fail to use this trope by deliberately baiting out more of their cards with cards that you can afford to use.
* Showing that he is the kind of villain who actually ''learns'' from his mistakes, Archibald Ironfist of ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' and ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' does not wait to be deposed a second time (he managed to rise to the throne of Deyja in the aftermath of the Restoration War) in ''Might & Magic VII'': realizing that his DragonWithAnAgenda (Kastore) seems liable to usurp power, Archibald uses the time of power he still has left to set up a place to evacuate to with his most loyal followers (under the guise of acquiring valuable resources, and with defences that would keep him safe ready to be re-activated). When Kastore makes his move, Archibald gets out and so can continue to scheme in safety, unlike the last time.
** AI opponents generally know when they're outmatched, and will not initiate battle against a hero with a superior army under most circumstances. If challenged, they will often fire off their strongest spell and retreat once they know they are outmatched (surrender, however, does not seem to be an option the AI players are able to use). The only exception to the first rule is when they are down to their last town, in which case they will be eliminated from the game unless they capture another within seven days.
* One mission in ''VideoGame/Hitman3'' sees Agent 47 being pursued by twelve enemy assassins. One of them is killed before the level starts, leaving 47 to take care of the other eleven. However, [[spoiler:you only need to kill five of them]] due to this trope. [[spoiler:After the fifth one drops, their handler, Jiao, realizes they are critically outmatched and orders the survivors to evacuate. It's a common SelfImposedChallenge for players to try to pick off all eleven before they escape.]]
* Komato Assassins in ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' are the only non-robot enemies the player can "kill" without it getting added to their kill count, because instead of dying, Assassins just throw in the towel and teleport away.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': [[spoiler: [[TheBrute Lord Bulbin]] eventually realizes that he can't beat Link. He explains he [[IFightForTheStrongestSide always fights for the strongest side]] (with the implication that Link is now that strongest side), before he hands Link a key and leaves. Particularly surprising, as Bulbin had been the definition of a RecurringBoss up until that point.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': Mina and Mils, a brother/sister duo wandering Hyrule searching for treasure among the ruins of destroyed towns, are frequently found running into various monsters that they attempt to fight against until Link comes to the rescue. But even Mina admits that conducting a similar raid on [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Hyrule Castle]] would be suicidal because of all the [[MechaMooks Guardians]] roaming around it.
* ''VisualNovel/MarcoAndTheGalaxyDragon'': Haqua is initially cold and confident the first time she attacks Marco for the Lizard Stone, but when Arco shapeshifts into her true Galaxy Dragon form, that confidence evaporates and she beats a hasty retreat. She doesn’t try to steal the Stone again until a situation arises where Arco is out of commission and can’t come to Marco’s aid.
* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', quite a few instances where you avoid a fight via a Renegade or Paragon dialog choice are all about reminding the NPC of this trope, usually by reminding them of all the other people who were more dangerous than they are that you've already killed.
** From ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'', a character in a minor quest gets by using an EMP to disable any passing vehicle that catches his fancy, before killing the owner and stripping the vehicle for parts. Then Ryder comes by. He disables the ''Nomad'', then realises he's severely outmatched, calls Ryder up and gives them the parts needed to restore their car. If Ryder decides he can't be allowed to continue, he'll still try and attack them.
* ''VideoGame/Portal2'': [[spoiler: [=GLaDOS=] decides that she is so sick of Chell that she doesn't want to kill her anymore, just get her out of her life. So she grants Chell her freedom in the hope that she never comes back]].
* ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'':
** Parodied in the first game. When [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 The Heavy]] is knocked out of the tournament, he will occasionally reference a well-known song from [[GloriousMotherRussia his homeland]]: "You must know when to hold on to your cards, and you must know when to burn them in fire. Because if you lose, you bring insufferable shame to Republic, and are sent to a work camp in forest."
** The sequel has [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]], who [[{{Determinator}} doesn't believe in the "no-win" scenario]], [[SubvertedTrope but does believe in the "probably-not-going-to-win" scenario]], and will fold in such a scenario.
* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', one option during demon conversations is simply to stop the conversation. Often times this will yield better results than allowing the conversation to drag on, which could result in thing such as the demon leaving without giving you what you wanted (e.g. Macca, an item, joining you) or getting a free turn, and this being ''Megami Tensei'', enemies getting free turns is a ''[[NintendoHard very]] [[OneHitKill bad]] [[TotalPartyKill thing]]''. That said, ending a conversation can also lead to those things happening anyway, and it's impossible to tell when is the best time to do so, making demon conversations, especially recruitment, largely a LuckBasedMission.
* As Bentley of ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' puts it, "look, there's no shame in running from a fight. Keeps you alive!"
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'', if you've captured all but one city in the civilization stage and don't take the last city right away, they'll usually just surrender.
* ''VideoGame/SpyroShadowLegacy'': In Spyro's final fight with the Sorceror, the Sorceror uses the last of his power to escape when he realizes he's losing.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', many of more dark and fantastical events offer this as an option. When dealing with such insanities as a dimension of pure suffering, the terrible revelations that led to the extinction of a {{precursor}} race, or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a black hole writing love bad poetry]], there's inevitably an option to the tune of "[[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow destroy the data]], cordon off the area, and LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain".
* In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars30'', the Dreikruez can drop in on various fronts being overwhelmed by enemy forces. When Mitsuba requests that the fighters there retreat and let her team handle this, they agree, realizing they're outmatched and leave the fighting to them, though they return and promise to try and pick up the slack.
* The FatalFlaw of the villain of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', being a {{deconstruction}} of the {{Determinator}}, is not knowing when to fold 'em. [[spoiler:Mithos created the two world system all for the sake of reviving his dead sister, Martel. Despite his allies turning on him, [[DragonWithAnAgenda secretly plotting behind his back]] or [[HazyFeelTurn openly opposing him]], Mithos still continues to sacrifice countless people and resources to bring Martel back. Even when [[TheBadGuyWins he actually does revive Martel]], all Mithos gets for his trouble is a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Martel before [[ButNowIMustGo she leaves for the afterlife]].]] Protagonist Lloyd Irving, at least, knows when too far is too far, and wants to make sure everyone can live in peace.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' this is said by Sully, usually in reference to his old age, but more meaningfully to Nate about his often reckless adventures and need to prove himself.
--> '''Sully''': Guys like me gotta know when to walk away from the table.
** This becomes a major theme in ''Uncharted 4'' due to everyone's self-destructive obsession with the treasure of Libertalia. [[spoiler:At the climax, [[TheHero Nate]] and [[TheDragon Nadine]] realize it's time to fold and get to escape with their lives. [[TheLancer Sam]] has to be convinced by Nate, and leaves with a pocket full of gold coins. [[BigBad Rafe]] refuses to let go of his obsession, and gets a bag of treasure dropped on his head for his trouble.]]
* Knowing when to fold is an important part of Gwent in ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'': since under most circumstances the players don't draw cards, it's important to when to concede one of the three rounds and hope for a better outcome in the next one, rather than throw all your cards at a situation and then get stomped in the proceeding rounds because your hand's run dry.
* In ''VideoGame/XCOMLongWar'', unlike in vanilla ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', not every mission is expected to be winnable; every now and then you will encounter missions that are just too tough and it's preferable to abort rather than risk a TotalPartyKill or, possibly worse, a PyrrhicVictory where you clear the mission but at the cost of wounded soldiers losing valuable Will and other stats. Fortunately, the new ability to retake countries back into the Council fold makes panic increase for doing so less punishing than in vanilla.
* In many video games based on the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' series, if you catch the CPU opponent in a [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Yata-Garasu_Lockdown Yata-Garasu lock]], they'll throw in the towel and spare you the bother of pecking them to death.
[[/folder]]

* Phase, of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', handles power mimic Counterpoint by avoiding fighting him, so the power mimic doesn't get Phase's powers. [[spoiler: It turns out in another book that Phase does have a way of fighting a power mimic, but it's ''lethal''.]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' episode "Coast-to-Ghost" focused on the gang having to recapture a vampire ghost named Rankor. At the end of the episode, Rankor is at risk of [[WeakenedByTheLight being destroyed by sunlight]] until Scrappy and Flim-Flam offer to save him by returning him to the Chest of Demons. Rankor accepts the offer, making him the only ghost in the series to return to the Chest of Demons willingly.
* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'''s SpellingBee episode when the class genius is studying for the competition.
-->'''Brain:''' A-N-T-I-D-- Uhhhh...\\
'''Brain's dad:''' What word are you struggling with, son?\\
'''Brain:''' [[InherentlyFunnyWords 'Antidisestablishmentarianism'.]] I can never remember if it has five 'i's or six.\\
'''Dad:''' Why don't you just skip down to 'antidote'.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' does this a lot:
** The Gaang convince LaResistance after Omashu fell that living to fight another day would be better, and they help get the civilians out of the town.
** Omashu itself fell so quickly because its King Bumi surrendered immediately, figuring they were in no position to accomplish anything by fighting back. He even [[SelfRestraint willingly remained in a prison he could break out of]] until he thought the time was right. [[spoiler: When that moment comes ("An eclipse. That'll do it. ") [[OneManArmy he sure as hell seized upon it]].]]
** When the invasion during the eclipse [[spoiler: fails, the troops decide that Aang and his friends should flee with Appa, while the rest of them surrender instead of fighting a battle that has become impossible to win]].
** Same goes for the Firelord himself, who knows that an invasion is planned and that he and his guards will be severely weakened during the eclipse. So he decides to [[spoiler:not be in his throne room. And not in his secret bunker either. Instead he hides in a second secret bunker and sits the whole thing out]].
** When Aang comes to the conclusion that he won't be able to fully master his abilities before the day of the comet, he decides to let the enemies use their trump card and sit it out. [[spoiler: But it turns out he [[FinalSolution doesn't have the luxury]].]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', JerkJock Nelson is bullying Willy Watt. When Terry steps up to defend him (Nelson has witnessed Terry kicking the asses of a Jokerz gang), Nelson considers it for a moment and backs down.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Castle}}'': When Prince Davith's tunnel burning plan fails and he learns that reinforcements from King Edward are coming in, he knows he's screwed if he presses on, and so orders his troops to fall back.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Numbah 5 in “Operation: M.A.U.R.I.C.E.”. [[HeroicBSOD Her spirit is broken]] upon seeing the former KND operative she admired siding with her sister Cree and the teenagers in their plan to fire a chicken pox cannon upon a large group of kids so that the teens can have 3 weeks of solitude to themselves. [[note]] Cree claims the reason she waited to use it was because she wanted to recruit Maurice after he had become a teenager, as she didn’t want to “pox up a pretty face”.[[/note]] Numbah 5 is so broken by this that she just gives up and laments on how [[GrowingUpSucks unfair it is]] for a kid to be the best operative to the KND [[AllForNothing only for them to turn into the very enemy they fought against for so long.]]
--> '''Numbuh 5''': "I... I... I give up."
--> '''Cree''': "Say again?"
--> '''Numbah 5''' : "I give up. What's the point? My sister's a teen, the greatest Kids Next Door I ever knew is a teen, and I'll be a teen soon enough. I mean just look at me; I’m practically a teen now! I can’t keep fighting it. I just… I give up!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Little Ed Blue", Sarah yells at Ed (as usual) for kicking her at their house along with everybody. However, when he, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness in an uncharacteristic bad mood]], yells back at her, she fearfully backs away and complies to his demand of her and everyone to leave, knowing better than to provoke her much stronger older brother.
* In the five-part ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' story where Serpentor was created, Sergeant Slaughter -- as in, the OneManArmy BloodKnight of the Joes -- knows enough to surrender when surrounded, exhausted, and outnumbered, although he does warn them that while Cobra's "in the lead", they're "going into extra innings, you can count on it". (And his words are ''very'' prophetic; he throws a big SpannerInTheWorks a few scenes later.)
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' plays this card a few times:
** "Phoebe Takes the Fall" has Helga making Phoebe throw the qualifier for a citywide academic bowl so she can get a chance to one-up her much-accomplished sister for once. After long and hard studying, mostly with Phoebe, she has a nightmare where Arnold confronts her during the quiz to ask her why she's competing instead of Phoebe. She {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the dream before dismissing it... but ends up feeling guilty for nipping Phoebe's chances in the bud and has Phoebe compete anyway. [[spoiler:Despite being training-free, Phoebe wins, and on the very same question Helga's sister had missed, too.]]
** When in a non-stop contest against his wife, Coach Jack states he first got to date his now wife by forfeiting the game and letting her win. He later does this at the end of the episode and they get back together. It repairs their relationship, but his wife still calls him out on letting her win and demands a proper rematch, which he accepts.
* Used occasionally in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Jumanji}}'' animated series. In one instance, the main characters met a man who was trapped in the game and couldn't escape until he accepted the fact that he was stuck there forever ("Try as you might to escape your fate/You'll never pass through the gateless gate"). Once he gave up on getting free, he was freed. The kids once got a similar clue ("There's one way out, the price you know/Save yourselves and let it go"), which they solved when they chose ''not'' to obey it.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "Hereafter", Livewire suggests calling off the attempt to draw Superman into a trap when it becomes apparent that he's not the only hero they have to worry about. It's too late for that, though.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'', the VillainOfTheWeek will often give up when facing too much opposition from the Lion Guard, saying no prey is worth that much effort, even if they acted like a SuperPersistentPredator earlier in the episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 The Crystal Empire]]", Twilight Sparkle is explicitly ordered by [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] to save the day herself this time without relying on any of her friends, as part of her training. She holds to the restriction for a while.... but once she's caught by an enemy trap and it becomes obvious that she can't free herself in time to stop the villain, she immediately has [[TheSquire Spike]] pick up where she left off. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Celestia]] praises her later for recognizing the severity of the situation and the need to adapt.
** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E25ToWhereAndBackAgainPart1 To Where and Back Again]]", the Season 6 finale, has one for Queen Chrysalis when she emerges from the rubble of her destroyed PowerNullifier throne ready to kick pony tail -- only to realize that she is alone against the Mane Six, all known [[PhysicalGod alicorns]], the [[RealityWarper Spirit of Chaos]], one of the most powerful [[FunctionalMagic unicorns]] in all off Equestria, the newly appointed changeling king and the entirety of her former army. Rather than fight what would have been a very short and very one-sided CurbStompBattle, she vows revenge and flees into the wilderness.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfHeMan'': In "The New Wizard in Town", the evil wizard Ramlin has the ability to [[PowerParasite drain magic from others into himself]]. Skeletor, who has heard of him and realizes Ramlin is a ManOfKryptonite to him, refuses to fight him and runs away. He-Man eventually finds out that Ramlin can only drain magic when he is being attacked, and he can't hold on to magic for very long, so [[SheatheYourSword if you refuse to attack him]], he'll be rendered powerless.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "The Warlock's Revenge", the Warlock wants to borrow his sister's magical ruby to use its powers to exact revenge on Superman but she refuses because she's sure that the Warlock will fail again and Superman will destroy the ruby. The Warlock just takes the ruby by force and it leads to Superman eventually proving her right.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'':
** In "[[Recap/SamuraiJackS4E5ThePrincessAndTheBountyHunters The Princess and the Bounty Hunters]]", when the trap Princess Mira designs fails, she's the last survivor among the villains, she's hurt, and Jack is unharmed. She considers continuing the battle... but then decides against it and drops her weapon, realizing she can't win. Unlike the others, she lives.
** In "[[Recap/SamuraiJackS4E11TheTaleOfX9 The Tale of X-9]]", X-9 says that this is why he survived longer than the other X-units, seeing as the Emotion Chip inside him gave him a sense of self-preservation that let him run when he knew he was in danger. As he explains it, "The other X-units, they didn't care. I cared."
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsResistanceS1E20NoEscapePartII No Escape, Part II]]", upon realizing that they're [[spoiler:losing control of the Colossus, Agent Tierny and Commander Pyre decide to leave and call in reinforcements to destroy the station, rather than try and take it back]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E28SpaceRace Space Race]]" is based around this. Steven and his dad build a "spaceship" together (really a soapbox racer), and his dad warns Steven that he shouldn't be afraid to get out of dodge if something's going wrong. Sure enough, the soapbox racer crashes but Steven is spared injury by jumping clear. Later, Pearl gets it into her head to build an actual, functioning spaceship out of scrap and takes Steven on its maiden voyage. Pearl is desperate to return to space after centuries of being stuck on Earth, to the point of refusing to bail out even as the spaceship disintegrates around them both, and it takes Steven's pleading to convince her to eject mere seconds before the ship explodes.
-->'''Steven:''' ''Pearl!'' I know you miss space and I know you worked hard, but sometimes, you just gotta know when to bail.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' episode "Notes From the Underground (Part 1)" Leonardo orders a retreat from the clearly more powerful monsters. Raphael really doesn't like running from a fight, so Leonardo tells him it's a "tactical retreat". Raphael looks at his foes for a brief second and says, "Tatical retreat, ICanLiveWithThat..." before following the others.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': During Dr. Light's first scuffle with the Titans, Raven pulls him into her cloak and shows him something that absolutely traumatizes him. During his second encounter, he surrenders immediately after Raven puts on a scary face.
-->'''Raven:''' Remember me?
-->'''Dr. Light:''' [to the other Titans] I'd like to go to jail now, please.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' gives us Silas, head of the terrorist organization M.E.C.H. He's made no secret his desire to obtain Cybertronian tech for his own ends. However, if it looks as if the tide of battle is turning against him, he has no problem ordering a strategic withdrawal, happy to use what information he's gleaned for the next encounter. It's notable that Optimus Prime compares him to Megatron.
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'': A textbook example of the dissonance between going down fighting and Knowing When To Fold Them: Timmy is threatening the Trix (pillaging a Codex from Red Fountain) with his weapon... until he realizes that the Trix are ''much'' more powerful than he is, and decides that he's better off figuring out a way to defeat them later. Tecna sees this and calls him a coward for not fighting. However, [=4K=] simply discards this issue and replaces it with an anti-violence spell. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qq4L-y01Ns Video.]]
[[/folder]]

* {{Discussed|Trope}} by Reinhard von Lohengramm in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', where he told his attendant that first-rate commanders are commanders who at least knows when to retreat, although he himself never needed to retreat, since he always enters the battlefield with overwhelming advantages (except in one occasion).

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', any player may concede the game at any time, often due to the belief that one will soon or ultimately lose. This can happen during competitive tournament play, when a player may forfeit so he or she can play other games during his or her match in the time allotted. This rule even trumps cards whose ability prevents a player from winning or losing in a given situation (such as [[https://scryfall.com/card/ima/78/abyssal-persecutor Abyssal Persecutor]] or [[https://scryfall.com/card/mma/4/angels-grace Angel's Grace]]).

* An important skill in TabletopGame/{{poker}}. (In fact, that's what the [[TropeNamers Kenny Rogers song]] is about.)
** Also pretty much in ''any'' card game, where the RandomNumberGod can make or break you depending on what you draw.