beat a dead horse
Argue past resolution
To beat a dead horse is to persist in a futile effort or continue arguing a point already settled.
The image is of whipping a horse that's already dead—no amount of beating will make it move.
I know I'm beating a dead horse, but we really should reconsider the budget.
British English prefers "flog a dead horse."
- belaborOverwork a point
- harp onRepeat tediously, incessantly
- ad nauseamTo a sickening extent
- tilting at windmillsAttacking nonexistent threats
- dwell uponThink at length about
futility · pointlessness · lost cause · rehash · cliché · chasing one's tail · going in circles · spinning your wheels · doubling down · hammering away · overkill · overexplaining · repeating oneself · insist · repetition · reiteration · digging in one's heels · stubbornness
beat a dead horsestrike while the iron is hot
Act when conditions favor
make hay while the sun shines · seize the moment · break new ground · bear fruit · gain traction
beat a dead horseleave well enough alone
Avoid unnecessary interference
let it go · let sleeping dogs lie · cut your losses · move on · drop it
beat, beats, beating, beaten, beater, dead, deadness, deadly, deaden