gift horse
*Refrán de ayer
A caballo regalado, no le mires el diente.
Literal translation
Don't look at the tooth of the horse that has been given.*
This was in my saying of the day(from another site) When I saw the saying yesterday, I recognized it immediately as the English saying: Never look a gift horse in the mouth. When the translation came today, though it was not incorrect, It didn't sound much like english from a native speaker of the language. Is this a Spanish saying as well. I only ask because I originally thought that they had used a translated English saying for the Spanish dicho they sent that day. They do that sometimes, especially with quotes.
6 Answers
It is a very common Spanish saying. Never seen it in English before.
You are right Steve. It means "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." It is a common phrase, but I have heard it phrased as "Al caballo regalado no se busca lado."
Steve's version is the one everyone uses in Spain (I've heard even my grandparents saying it)
Same in Argentina, with very slight variations. We say " a caballo regalado no se le miran los dientes".
lazarus1907 said:
It is a very common Spanish saying. Never seen it in English before.
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lazarus1907 said:
It is a very common Spanish saying. Never seen it in English before.
Quite common in English too although it would not surprise me if most of the people that say it don't know why it means what it means. Maybe it should be updated to "Don't check the odometer of a car that you receive as a present."
samdie said:
lazarus1907 said:
It is a very common Spanish saying. Never seen it in English before.
Quite common in English too although it would not surprise me if most of the people that say it don't know why it means what it means. Maybe it should be updated to "Don't check the odometer of a car that you receive as a present."
Exactly. As you can tell a horse´s age by looking at it´s teeth, the saying is reminding you that it´s a present and not to complain about it, or more eloquently put "when given a present, be grateful for your good fortune and don't look for more by examining it to assess its value".
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