'Beating a Dead Horse' Is Pointless
2023-07-30
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
3We give examples, notes on usage, and sometimes we even use them in short stories.
4Today's idiom does not sound nice.
5In fact, it sounds quite cruel.
6Today, we talk about beating a dead horse.
7Why would anyone do something as pointless as beating a dead animal?
8Well, that is how we use the expression: to describe something that is a useless thing to do.
9You are just wasting your time. It is not productive.
10There is no point.
11Merriam-Webster's online dictionary says this expression comes from the mid-19th century.
12Back then, some people may have beaten horses to make them go faster.
13At the time, this was often thought of as an acceptable practice.
14But beating a dead horse would be pointless - because it's dead.
15No amount of beating will change that fact.
16We often use this expression in the negative.
17We say things like "I don't want to beat horse ..." or "Not to beat a dead horse..."
18Now, if you are a horse lover and don't want to talk about beating one, please do not worry.
19We have many other expressions and idioms that have a similar meaning.
20Let's say your friend talks about the same problem.
21They do not take your advice and they do not seem to want to accept any solution.
22If you don't want to say to them, "Now you're just beating a dead horse," you can say, "Look, we've gone over the same ground and nothing has changed. So, can we please change the topic?"
23When you go over the same ground, you talk about the same thing over and over again.
24There is another expression with the word "ground" that means the same thing as "beat a dead horse."
25If I have a problem and talk about it too much, I have run it into the ground.
26Running something into the ground means you have talked about to death.
27You have talked about it ad nauseam. This means you are making other people sick over it.
28So, it is not a good idea to dwell on an old topic.
29Hearing about the same thing over and over again is tiring.
30Many people have lost good friends from belaboring a point or an issue.
31And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
32But join us again! We explore so many expressions and idioms in this program.
33In fact, each week we teach new ones.
34Not to beat a dead horse, but we really are a great resource for learning English.
35Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On 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. 3Today's idiom does not sound nice. In fact, it sounds quite cruel. 4Today, we talk about beating a dead horse. 5Why 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. 6Merriam-Webster's online dictionary says this expression comes from the mid-19th century. Back then, some people may have beaten horses to make them go faster. At the time, this was often thought of as an acceptable practice. 7But beating a dead horse would be pointless - because it's dead. No amount of beating will change that fact. We often use this expression in the negative. We say things like "I don't want to beat horse ..." or "Not to beat a dead horse..." 8Now, if you are a horse lover and don't want to talk about beating one, please do not worry. We have many other expressions and idioms that have a similar meaning. 9Let's say your friend talks about the same problem. They do not take your advice and they do not seem to want to accept any solution. If you don't want to say to them, "Now you're just beating a dead horse," you can say, "Look, we've gone over the same ground and nothing has changed. So, can we please change the topic?" 10When you go over the same ground, you talk about the same thing over and over again. 11There is another expression with the word "ground" that means the same thing as "beat a dead horse." If I have a problem and talk about it too much, I have run it into the ground. Running something into the ground means you have talked about to death. You have talked about it ad nauseam. This means you are making other people sick over it. 12So, it is not a good idea to dwell on an old topic. Hearing about the same thing over and over again is tiring. Many people have lost good friends from belaboring a point or an issue. 13And that is all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 14But join us again! We explore so many expressions and idioms in this program. In fact, each week we teach new ones. Not to beat a dead horse, but we really are a great resource for learning English. 15Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 16Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 17__________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19cruel - adj. ready to hurt others : without humane feelings 20negative - adj. showing the opposite of something else 21ad nauseam - adv. to a sickening or excessive degree 22dwell on - phrasal v. to think or talk about (something) for a long time 23belabor - v. to explain or insist on excessively 24__________________________________________________ 25We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 26We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.