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- The phrase, which is also sometimes expressed as ‘beating a dead horse’, appeared in print in 1859, in the report of a UK parliamentary debate involving Francis Wemyss-Charteris Douglas, eighth earl of Wemyss and sixth earl of March – who was better known as Lord Elcho.
www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/flogging-a-dead-horse.html
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What's the origin of the phrase 'Flogging a dead horse'? The original meaning of ‘a dead horse’, apart from the literal ‘horse that has fallen off its perch’, was a reference to work for which a person had been paid in advance (and possibly had already spent the proceeds).
Flogging a dead horse (or beating a dead horse in American English) is an idiom meaning that a particular effort is futile. Early usage. The expression is said to have been popularized by the English politician and orator John Bright.
Origins of the Idiom “To Flog a Dead Horse”. The idiom “flog a dead horse” finds its roots in the impassioned political landscape of 19th-century Britain, particularly within the fervent campaign for parliamentary reform.
The idiom “flog a dead horse” has its origins in the practice of whipping horses in order to make them move faster. However, if a horse was already dead, there would be no point in continuing to whip it.
Flog A Dead Horse - Meaning & Origin Of The Idiom. Flog a dead horse. Meaning. To attempt to make progress with something that has no future. Examples. Reissuing Betamax tapes? You’re flogging a dead horse there mate. Where did it originate? Britain, 17th century. Where is it used? Worldwide. Hear the idiom spoken. More idioms about. Animals.
The origin of ‘flog a dead horse’ can be traced back to the literal act of whipping or beating a dead horse in order to make it move or respond—a futile and pointless endeavor.
Flogging a dead horse. Engage in a pointless, counter-productive pastime, a waste of time, an Americanism dates from the early 19th century from the obvious and pointless allusion of urging on a dead horse.
