dead horses
Fallen stable animals
Dead horses appears almost exclusively in the idiom beating a dead horse—continuing to pursue something already settled, failed, or exhausted.
The image is of whipping a horse that's already died, pointlessly expending effort.
Let's not beat any more dead horses—the project was cancelled months ago.
In British English, the phrase is often flogging a dead horse.
Beating as punishment
- beatingRepeated striking or pulsing
- futilityLack of purpose
- pointlessnessState of lacking meaning
- wasteUnwanted discarded material
fruitless · useless · unproductive · redundant · repetitive · stale · worn-out · hackneyed
flogging
Beating as punishment
- beatingRepeated striking or pulsing
- futilityLack of purpose
- pointlessnessState of lacking meaning
waste · fruitless · useless · unproductive · redundant · repetitive · stale · worn-out · hackneyed · tired
salted
Treated with sodium chloride
provisions · nautical · shipboard · barrel · brine · hardtack · jerky · pemmican
wages
Payment for work
earnings · loan · credit · prepayment · arrears · owed · salary · remuneration