diff --git a/lib/cpp/src/transport/TSocket.cpp b/lib/cpp/src/transport/TSocket.cpp
index 2f5a0b0..b5ed829 100644
--- a/lib/cpp/src/transport/TSocket.cpp
+++ b/lib/cpp/src/transport/TSocket.cpp
@@ -481,9 +481,10 @@
   while (sent < len) {
     uint32_t b = write_partial(buf + sent, len - sent);
     if (b == 0) {
-      // We assume that we got 0 because send() errored with EAGAIN due to
-      // lack of system resources; release the CPU for a bit.
-      usleep(50);
+      // This should only happen if the timeout set with SO_SNDTIMEO expired.
+      // Raise an exception.
+      throw TTransportException(TTransportException::TIMED_OUT,
+                                "send timeout expired");
     }
     sent += b;
   }