Meaning of ‘Beating a Dead Horse’
The phrase ‘beating a dead horse’ means to continue talking about something that has already been decided or settled. It’s often used to imply that any further discussion on the topic would be pointless.
Example: Like I said last week, our trip will unfortunately have to be delayed until next year, so please stop beating a dead horse by bringing it up.
Similar Phrases: beating a drum, going around in circles, talking to a brick wall, wasting one’s breath
Related Idioms:
Want to discover more popular expressions that start with B? Check out our Idioms and Phrases Starting With B page for a list of them.
Origin of ‘Beating a Dead Horse’
There are several phrases and sayings in use today that originated from the activity of horse racing. It’s possible that this one comes from it as well. How so? Well, during a horse race, a jockey may have access to a riding crop, which kind of looks like a miniature whip. The jockey uses the riding crop to hit or ‘beat’ the horse on the thigh in an effort to get them running faster.
While there is controversy involved with how horses are treated during races, the purpose of ‘beating’ a horse during this activity is to acquire more speed. However, what would be the point of hitting a dead horse? Doing that would be utterly pointless! Hence, it’s possible the origin of this phrase came from the senselessness of beating a dead racing horse.
Anyways, this saying dates back to at least the year 1859. A form of it makes an appearance in the London newspaper Watchman And Wesleyan Advertiser. There’s an article from the newspaper that reads:
“It was notorious that Mr.Bright was dissatisfied with his winter reform campaign and rumor said that he had given up his effort with the exclamation that it was like flogging a dead horse.”
The word ‘flogging’ is just another word for beating.
Example Sentences
Let’s go over some examples on how to use the idiom ‘beat a dead horse’ in a sentence.
Examples:
1. Why do you insist on beating a dead horse by bringing up these old problems of ours?
2. He’s been debating with his friends for hours, at this point they are just beating a dead horse.
Examples That Use Similar Phrases:
1. We’ve been going around in circles for hours and we still haven’t reached a conclusion.
2. I tried explaining my side of the story to her, but it was like talking to a brick wall—she wouldn’t listen at all.
3. Trying to change his mind seemed impossible, I’m just beating a drum at this stage.