What is "quitting"

Quit \Quit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Quit or Quitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Quitting.] [OE. quiten, OF. quiter, quitier, cuitier, F. quitter, to acquit, quit, LL. quietare, fr. L. quietare to calm, to quiet, fr. quietus quiet. See Quiet, a., and cf. Quit, a., Quite, Acquit, Requite.]

1. To set at rest; to free, as from anything harmful or oppressive; to relieve; to clear; to liberate. [R.]

   To quit you of this fear, you have already looked Death in the face; what have you found so terrible in it?
   --Wake.

2. To release from obligation, accusation, penalty, or the like; to absolve; to acquit.

   There may no gold them quyte.
   --Chaucer.

   God will relent, and quit thee all his debt.
   --Milton.

3. To discharge, as an obligation or duty; to meet and satisfy, as a claim or debt; to make payment for or of; to requite; to repay.

   The blissful martyr quyte you your meed.
   --Chaucer.

   Enkindle all the sparks of nature To quit this horrid act.
   --Shak.

   Before that judge that quits each soul his hire.
   --Fairfax.

4. To meet the claims upon, or expectations entertained of; to conduct; to acquit; -- used reflexively.

   Be strong, and quit yourselves like men.
   --1 Sam. iv. 9.

   Samson hath quit himself Like Samson.
   --Milton.

5. To carry through; to go through to the end. [Obs.]

   Never worthy prince a day did quit With greater hazard and with more renown.
   --Daniel.

6. To have done with; to cease from; to stop; hence, to depart from; to leave; to forsake; as, to quit work; to quit the place; to quit jesting.

   Such a superficial way of examining is to quit truth for appearance.
   --Locke.

   To quit cost, to pay; to reimburse.

   To quit scores, to make even; to clear mutually from demands.

   Does not the earth quit scores with all the elements in the noble fruits that issue from it?
   --South.

   Syn: To leave; relinquish; resign; abandon; forsake; surrender; discharge; requite.

   Usage: Quit, Leave. Leave is a general term, signifying merely an act of departure; quit implies a going without intention of return, a final and absolute abandonment.

vb. (present participle of quit English)

1. v. put an end to a state or an activity; "Quit teasing your little brother" [syn: discontinue, stop, cease, give up, lay off] [ant: continue]

2. give up or retire from a position; "The Secretary fo the Navy will leave office next month"; "The chairman resigned over the financial scandal" [syn: leave office, step down, resign] [ant: take office]

3. go away or leave [syn: depart, take leave] [ant: stay]

4. turn away from; give up; "I am foreswearing women forever" [syn: foreswear, renounce, relinquish]

5. give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit defeat; "In the second round, the challenger gave up" [syn: drop out, give up, fall by the wayside, drop by the wayside, throw in, throw in the towel, chuck up the sponge] [ant: enter]

6. [also: quitting, quitted]

See quit

Quitting is a 2001 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yang, starring and based on the true life story of Jia Hongsheng. Jia, an actor and former drug addict, battled his addiction to marijuana and heroin for five years from 1992 to 1997. All members of the cast, from Jia and Jia's family members right down to the doctors and patients at a mental institute Jia was admitted to, are real people playing themselves. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 4 September 2001 and clinched the NETPAC Award.

The original Chinese title is an allusion to The Beatles classic song " Yesterday". References to The Beatles, of whom Jia was an avid fan, are also made throughout the film. Besides dressing up like John Lennon, Jia also fantasized himself as Lennon's son and recited the Chinese translation of the lyrics to Let It Be religiously. However, Michael Jackson, who owned the rights to most Beatles songs, declined to give permission for the song or its title to be used in the film. Instead, the film uses songs by Chinese rockers such as Cui Jian, Tang Dynasty and Dou Wei.