it means: don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift.

Origin

Proverbs are 'short and expressive sayings, in common use, which are recognized as conveying some accepted truth or useful advice'. This example, also often expressed as 'never look a gift horse in the mouth', is as pertinent today as it ever was.

As horses develop they grow more teeth and their existing teeth begin to change shape and project further forward. Determining a horse's age from its teeth is a specialist task, but it can be done. This incidentally is also the source of another teeth/age related phrase - long in the tooth.

The advice given in the 'don't look...' proverb is: when receiving a gift be grateful for what it is; don't imply you wished for more by assessing its value.

As with most proverbs the origin is ancient and unknown. We have some clues with this one however. The phrase appears in print in English in 1546, as "don't look a given horse in the mouth", in John Heywood's "A dialogue containing the number in effect of all the proverbes in the Englishe tongue", where he gives it as:

"No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth."

It is probable that Heywood obtained the phrase from a Latin text of St. Jerome, The Letter to the Ephesians, circa AD 400, which conatins the text 'Noli equi dentes inspicere donati' (Never inspect the teeth of a given horse). Where St Jerome got it from we aren't ever likely to know. unless, someone tells us.

I got all that of the internet. amazing.

Posted By: Tombs on May 30th 2012 at 21:35:26

Message Thread

It would be disappointing (NCFC) - APB, May 30, 21:20:10
- to be fair (NCFC) - Ollyboy, May 30, 21:24:45
  - Indeed. (n/m) (NCFC) - APB, May 30, 21:25:52
- But gift horses. Can we look them in the mouth? (n/m) (NCFC) - Old Man, May 30, 21:23:51
  - What is a gift horse? (NCFC) - duke of york, May 30, 21:25:06
    - it means: don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift. (NCFC) - Tombs, May 30, 21:35:26
      - fill your boots with that internet thing (NCFC) - shoddy, May 30, 21:37:04
        
        that would be the best thing that ever happened (NCFC) - Tombs, May 30, 21:38:53
        
        im on that wilberforce book you mentioned. (NCFC) - shoddy, May 30, 21:40:08
        
        good stuff, i won't do a spoiler... (NCFC) - Tombs, May 30, 21:49:30
    - And how high is a hill of beans? In metric. (n/m) (NCFC) - tudders, May 30, 21:28:15
    - really? (n/m) (NCFC) - 51eve, May 30, 21:28:07
    - Trojan. (n/m) (NCFC) - APB, May 30, 21:26:12
      - Like one of Charles' viruses? (n/m) (NCFC) - duke of york, May 30, 21:32:50

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