sponge gun
n.— «The officers used something that is commonly called a sponge gun it’s a less than lethal weapon that we have. The weapon was deployed in an effort to avoid having to shoot this man.» —“Santa Maria Man Threatens People With Large Knife” by Carina Corral KSBY-TV (San Luis Obispo, California) Apr. 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
The phrase throw in the towel meaning “give up,” stems from boxing competitions in the late 19th. If a boxer’s team wanted to stop the fight—usually because their fighter was taking too much punishment—they would literally throw a towel into the air...