flog a dead pony

present singular third person flogs a dead pony · participle present flogging a dead pony · participle past flogged a dead pony · past flogged a dead pony

1. idiomaticTo 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.

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

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

   1 more example

   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.

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

   Synonyms: beat a dead horse, flog a dead horse