'Beating a Dead Horse' Is Pointless — VOA Learning English
Topics: суспільство
Beginning
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. We give examples, notes on usage, and sometimes we even use them in short stories.
Today’s idiom does not sound nice. In fact, it sounds quite cruel.
Today, we talk about beating a dead horse.
Why would anyone do something as pointless as beating a dead animal? Well, that is how we use the expression: to describe something that is a useless thing to do. You are just wasting your time. It is not productive. There is no point.
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary says this expression comes from the mid-19th century. Back then, some people may have beaten horses to…
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