Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
9 Answers
Does anybody know the origin of this expression?
Why a "gift Horse"?
Also, any idea why, if the plural of goose is geese, then why is the plural of mongoose not mongeese?
Why a "gift Horse"?
Also, any idea why, if the plural of goose is geese, then why is the plural of mongoose not mongeese?
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.So... we've had an excellent explanation of the meaning of the phrase as well as the usual exoteric synthesis of complex information distilled to it's clear understandability re: moose/meese, a goose/geese, sans mon, from the inveterate Q. However, mysteriously, His Inveterateness and auntflo failed to answer the question as to origin(s)...
The phrase is a Probverb; as stated, this proverb is based on the fact that a horse's value is determined by his age, which, in turn, can be roughly determined by an examination of his teeth. The message conveyed is that a gift should be appreciated for the thought and spirit behind it, not according to its value. St. Jerome, (ca. AD400) who never accepted payment for his writings, first used the phrase in reply to his literary critics. His exact words: "Never inspect the teeth of a gift horse." (Source: Trivia-Source).
The phrase is a Probverb; as stated, this proverb is based on the fact that a horse's value is determined by his age, which, in turn, can be roughly determined by an examination of his teeth. The message conveyed is that a gift should be appreciated for the thought and spirit behind it, not according to its value. St. Jerome, (ca. AD400) who never accepted payment for his writings, first used the phrase in reply to his literary critics. His exact words: "Never inspect the teeth of a gift horse." (Source: Trivia-Source).
As handed out to students at the Dick Vet in the '60s
The Age of a Horse
by O. R. Gleason
To tell the age of any horse
Inspect the lower jaw, of course.
The six front teeth the tale will tell,
And every doubt and fear dispel.
Two middle nippers you behold
Before the colt is two weeks old.
Before eight weeks two more will come;
Eight months the corners cut the gum.
The outside grooves will disappear
From middle two in just one year;
In two years from the second pair;
In three years "corners," too, are bare.
At two the middle "nippers" drop.
At three the second pair can't stop.
When four years old the third pair goes.
At five a full new set he shows.
The deep black spots will pass from view
At six years from the middle two;
The second pair at seven years;
At eight the spot each corner clears.
From middle "nippers" upper jaw
At nine the black spots will withdraw.
The second pair at ten are bright;
Eleven finds the corners light.
As time goes on, the horsemen know,
The oval teeth three-sided grow.
The old horse has more "whoa" than "get"
We keep him only for a pet.
The Age of a Horse
by O. R. Gleason
To tell the age of any horse
Inspect the lower jaw, of course.
The six front teeth the tale will tell,
And every doubt and fear dispel.
Two middle nippers you behold
Before the colt is two weeks old.
Before eight weeks two more will come;
Eight months the corners cut the gum.
The outside grooves will disappear
From middle two in just one year;
In two years from the second pair;
In three years "corners," too, are bare.
At two the middle "nippers" drop.
At three the second pair can't stop.
When four years old the third pair goes.
At five a full new set he shows.
The deep black spots will pass from view
At six years from the middle two;
The second pair at seven years;
At eight the spot each corner clears.
From middle "nippers" upper jaw
At nine the black spots will withdraw.
The second pair at ten are bright;
Eleven finds the corners light.
As time goes on, the horsemen know,
The oval teeth three-sided grow.
The old horse has more "whoa" than "get"
We keep him only for a pet.