What does the proverb don’t look a gift horse in the mouth means?
By admin on Feb. 5, 2010.
if someone is gracious enough to present you with a gift, its in very bad taste to criticize it or bemoan the conditions of it right in front of them, or away from them for that matter
8 Responses to “What does the proverb don’t look a gift horse in the mouth means?”
It means don’t criticize something that you’re being given as a gift.
The saying comes from the ability to tell the age and condition of a horse by looking at the quality of its teeth.
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By SueBeeRoo on Feb 5, 2010
It means if someone is giving you a present, or doing something for you, don’t ask questions, don’t question why they gave it to you, don’t inspect it in front of them and complain about it. Accept a gift graciously.
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By kelbel084 on Feb 5, 2010
It means one ought to always be grateful for whatever they receive, even if it isn’t something that you wanted you should still show appreciation.
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By DivaByNature,B*tchByChoice on Feb 5, 2010
Basically it means accept a gift, compliment or any gratuitious offer with an open mind. Like the usual fruit cake during the holidays take it says thank you and give it away.
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Received many fruit cakes.
By BOBBY C. on Feb 5, 2010
It means that you shouldn’t criticize something that you are given for free, on the one hand, because it’s impolite and on the other hand because it’s unnecessary (you can only gain).
It is to the extend incorrect/unwise that you could theoretically lose when someone makes you the present of a load of debts (for example on land you inherit).
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By J.A. on Feb 5, 2010
if someone is gracious enough to present you with a gift, its in very bad taste to criticize it or bemoan the conditions of it right in front of them, or away from them for that matter
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By gonuhusker on Feb 5, 2010
Don’t be ungrateful when you receive a gift.
Origin
This comes into the category of phrases called proverbs, that is, ’short and expressive sayings, in common use, which are recognized as conveying some accepted truth or useful advice’.
don’t look a gift horse in the mouthAs horses age their teeth begin to project further forward each year and so their age can be estimated by checking how prominent the teeth are. 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 given a present, be grateful for your good fortune and don’t look for more by examining it to assess its value.
As with most proverbs the origin is ancient and unknown. We have some clues with this one however. The phrase was originally "don’t look a given horse in the mouth" and first appears in print in 1546 in John Heywood’s BOOKS………….
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By PEACE! on Feb 5, 2010
The meaning is as listed above – the origin is a little unclear, but one source attributes the saying to St. Jerome (circa 400 AD), who never accepted payment for his writings. When his work was judged by critics, he supposedly said, "Never inspect the teeth of a gift horse."
I always thought this phrase had something to do with the Trojan Horse. But I guess the Trojans probably SHOULD have inspected their gift horse, since they would have found the Greeks hiding inside. I think that led to the phrase "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"…
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By honky275 on Feb 5, 2010