beat a dead horse

beat a dead horse
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.


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  • beat 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… …   Useful english dictionary

  • beat 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 …   English idioms

  • beat 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? …   New idioms dictionary

  • beat a dead horse — (Slang) continue to deal with an issue after it has been settled; waste time on a task that will never succeed …   English contemporary dictionary

  • beat a dead horse —  Continue to argue/discuss an issue after recognizing that it cannot be resolved …   American business jargon

  • dead 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 …   Combinatory dictionary

  • dead 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 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • flog a dead horse — See beat a dead horse …   English idioms

  • dead 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 …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • beat/flog a dead horse —    To say that someone is beating a dead horse means that they are wasting time and effort trying to do or achieve something that is impossible.    Mark is beating a dead horse trying to get his money reimbursed.     The company has gone… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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