flog a dead pony

flog a dead pony (third-person singular simple present flogs a dead pony, present participle flogging a dead pony, simple past and past participle flogged a dead pony)

1. (idiomatic) To attempt to get more out of something that cannot give more; to attempt to arouse fresh interest in something that is either hopeless or already settled.

   Synonyms: beat a dead horse, flog a dead horse

   • 1994 August 17, Lois-ellin Datta, A Matter of Consensus (Working Paper), Washington: US Dept. of Education, →OCLC, ERIC ED379290, page 15:

     […] much greater impact on actual practice when the topic wasn't flogging a dead pony (advocating a change already wide-spread) […]

   • 2005, Sharron McClellan, The Midas Trap, New York: Silhouette Bombshell, →ISBN, page 23:

     Now was not the time to lose her temper. He was baiting her, and going over the Brazil incident was like flogging a dead pony. She was tired and the pony was past caring.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:flog a dead pony.