dead horse
Futile pursuit metaphor
A dead horse is something that has been exhausted of usefulness or resolved beyond revival.
To beat a dead horse is to keep arguing or discussing something that's already been settled or can't be changed—the effort is pointless since the horse won't move again.
In nautical slang, working off the dead horse meant laboring to repay an advance on wages.
Repeated striking or pulsing
- floggingBeating as punishment
- pointlessLacking any purpose
- fruitlessProducing no useful outcome
- uselessWithout practical value
vain · hopeless · ineffective · ineffectual · unproductive · unavailing · lost cause · fool's errand
beating
Repeated striking or pulsing
useless · vain · hopeless · ineffective · ineffectual · unproductive · unavailing · lost cause · fool's errand · exercise in futility
beaten
Having lost a contest
overworked · worn out · clichéd · trite · stale · hackneyed · old news · rehashed · recycled · redundant
carrion
Putrefying animal remains
- remainsContinues in place
- rottingOrganic matter decomposing
- decomposingOrganic matter breaking down
decaying · putrid · bloated · maggots · vultures · buzzards · roadkill · stench · flies · scavengers
dead horsegoing concern
Profitable, continuing enterprise
fertile ground · live wire · cash cow · golden goose · low-hanging fruit
horse, horses, horseshoe, horseback, horseman, dead, horseshoes, horsewoman, horsemanship