flog a dead horse third-person singular simple present flogs a dead horse present participle flogging a dead horse simple past and past participle flogged a dead horse
( British , idiomatic ) ( dated , nautical ) work out of a ship's crew during the dead horse period.to attempt to get more out of something that cannot give more
Estonian: surnud hobust peksta tühja tööd tegema viljatut ideed uuesti üles võtma
Finnish: piiskata kuollutta hevosta
German: auf etwas herumreiten ; seine Zeit verschwenden , sich vergeblich bemühen
Hungarian: vesztegeti az idejét mint halottnak a csók falra hányt borsó ( literally “ pea[s] thrown onto [a] wall ” ) , feleslegesen igyekszik /erőlteti lezárt témán lovagol
Italian: sprecare tempo è fatica sprecata è una battaglia persa ( literally “ it's a lost battle ” )
Kikuyu: kũhũra maaĩ na ndĩrĩ ( literally “ to pound water with a mortar ” )
Malay: mencari jejak dalam air
Persian: آب در هاون کوبیدن (fa) ( âb dar hâvan kubidan , literally “ to grind water in a mortar ” )
Polish: no equivalent term in Polish, but see robić coś na próżno impf zrobić coś na próżno pf
Portuguese: chutar cachorro morto (pt) ( literally “ to kick a dead dog ” )
Russian: решето́м во́ду носи́ть ( rešetóm vódu nosítʹ , literally “ carry water in a sieve ” ) , напрасно стараться ( naprasno staratʹsja , literally “ try hard in vain ” )
Scottish Gaelic: a' marbhadh coin mhairbh ( literally “ killing a dead dog ” )
Spanish: machacar en hierro frío ( literally “ to strike cold iron ” )
Turkish: havanda su dövmek (tr) , boşa kürek çekmek