beat a dead horse
1beat a dead horse — beat/flog/a dead horse phrase to waste time on something that you know is not going to happen Thesaurus: to waste time, or to pass time doing unimportant thingssynonym Main entry: horse * * * waste energy on a lost cause or unalterable situation… …
2beat a dead horse — verb To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason. After having shown us three hours of instructional and safety videos, the inspector was simply beating a dead horse by telling us to buckle up as we got into the van …
3beat a dead horse — continue to ask or try when there is no hope They won t refund your money. You re beating a dead horse …
4beat a dead horse — to waste time doing something that has already been attempted. Do you think it s worth sending my manuscript to other publishers or I am just beating a dead horse? …
5beat a dead horse — (Slang) continue to deal with an issue after it has been settled; waste time on a task that will never succeed …
6beat a dead horse — Continue to argue/discuss an issue after recognizing that it cannot be resolved …
7dead horse — n. (colloq.) a topic that has been exhausted to beat a dead horse * * * [ ded hɔːs] (colloq.) [ a topic that has been exhausted ] to beat a dead horse …
8dead horse — noun Date: 1830 an exhausted or profitless topic or issue usually used in the phrases beat a dead horse and flog a dead horse …
9flog a dead horse — See beat a dead horse …
10dead horse — n. a dead issue, especially one that is referred to continually. (Often with beat, whip.) □ Forget it! Don’t waste time whipping a dead horse. □ The whole business is a dead horse. Forget it …
