Never look a gift horse in the mouth?

kanie · Wed Nov 10, 2004 11:59 am *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

Test No. incompl/inter-14 "Popular Idioms (1)", question 10

Never look a gift horse in the ..........

(a) mouth
(b) eye
(c) nose
(d) teeth

Test No. incompl/inter-14 "Popular Idioms (1)", answer 10

Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Correct answer: (a) mouth

Your answer was: correct
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what does is mean for " Never look a gift horse in the mouth"

Torsten · Wed Nov 10, 2004 12:42 pm *Don't complain if a gift is not perfect*

You should not complain if a gift is not perfect (after all, it's just a gift).
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

dgc · Thu Dec 09, 2004 21:03 pm *Gift horse*

has to have something to do with the fall of Troy

Torsten · Fri Dec 10, 2004 8:06 am *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

Well, the expression to look a gift horse in the mouth is so old that its origins are very difficult to determine. As far as I know it has been traced to the writings of St. Jerome who labeled it a common saying. Interestingly enough the expression also occurs in French; Spanish; Italian, German and other languages of Europe.
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

Ella · Sun Apr 10, 2005 22:59 pm *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

That is because if you buy a horse you always look at its teeth to tell its age, and thus its value. In Russian we use the word teeth not mouth in the similar proverb. That's why I made a mistake here.

Mosteque · Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:53 am *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

same in polish Smile

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obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit

Guest · Sun Apr 17, 2005 18:53 pm *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

And same in Spanish, but with tooth, instead of teeth.

rich7 · Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:31 am *Rich*

We say:" a caballo regalao no se le mira colmillo"

We use "colmillo" for fang because is the largest and noticeable of the teeth.
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I should have been born in the USA.
I've got this thing about America.

Mosteque · Mon Apr 18, 2005 21:29 pm *Never look a gift horse in the mouth?*

unfortunately a horse has no colmillo Very Happy

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obsequium amicos, veritas odium parit

rich7 · Wed Apr 20, 2005 6:42 am *Yes*

Yes I, we know but that's the way it is.
_________________
I should have been born in the USA.
I've got this thing about America.

Oana · Mon Jun 13, 2005 18:07 pm *Gift horse...*

same in Romanian. hehe, we all did the same mistake because of that... the good thing is that now at least we know and we won't do it again.

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