Beat a Dead Horse
What it means
Keep pushing an argument that is settled, or a cause with nothing left in it.
Where it comes from
Dead horse was sailors' slang for wages advanced and already spent, so working them off felt like labour for nothing. The older British form of the phrase is flog a dead horse.
The puzzle it came from
Beat a Dead Horse was the answer to the Phrasicle of June 8, 2025. The clue read ____ a ____ ____, and the words came out of a grid where every neighbouring pair makes a two-word phrase.
Play today's Phrasicle Play the June 8, 2025 puzzle
Show the solved grid (this spoils the June 8, 2025 puzzle)
rat
race
horse
power
couple
sea
bass
drum
beat
box
drop
dead
weight
room
service
wall
street
light
house
warming
Phrasicle: Beat a Dead Horse