submitted 6 days ago by wuphysics87@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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When examined, or just because it's weird on its own.

Example: Beat a dead horse

You whip a horse to go faster
It dies from being whipped too much
You still want the horse to go faster
You continue to whip it

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[-] Doctor_Satan@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago

The Wikipedia entry on that one is a fun read. I've heard most of these possible origins before, but nobody is actually sure of the true origin of the phrase. It's kind of frustrating, but also pretty neat that we still use a phrase long after we forgot where it came from.

this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2025

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