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A good horse is never a bad color?



 
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A good horse is never a bad color? #1 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:32 am   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Could you please help me make sense of this sentence:

A good horse is never a bad color? It seems this is the title of a book but maybe it's also an idiom? Have you ever heard this phrase and if in what context?

Thanks in advance,
Torsten

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Horse #2 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:52 am   Horse
 

Hi Torsten,

A quick search has revealed this:

Quote:
If something is a horse of a different color, it's a different matter or separate issue altogether.

This is apparently an American expression but your expression is new to me.

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A good horse is never a bad color? #3 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:31 am   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Hmm... I’d understand that means: when you love/like someone (your horse :)) it almost does not matter, how he/she looks.
Your lovely horse always has just the 'right' colour, in this sense.
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A good horse is never a bad color? #4 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:58 am   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Hi Torsten

The expression "That's a horse of a different color" means "That's another matter entirely". It's a well-known expression in the US.

Your sentence sounds like a play on that expression. My literal interpretation of your quote is:
A well-trained (i.e., useful) horse is valuable no matter what color it is.

Amy
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A good horse is never a bad color? #5 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 19:24 pm   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Hello everybody

I am translating one proverb from my language into English. This proverb seems more or less like what Torsten discussed.

1- A bad cover cannot hide a good book.

OR:

1- A good book does not have a bad cover.

Tom
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A good horse is never a bad color? #6 (permalink) Mon Oct 09, 2006 19:32 pm   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Hi Tom

That reminds me of this English expression:

You can't judge a book by its cover. :D

Amy
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It reminds me... :) #7 (permalink) Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:47 am   It reminds me... :)
 

Hi
Yankee wrote:
You can't judge a book by its cover.

All is not gold that glitters.
(Just one small step more ;) :))

(By the way, In Russian it is exactly the same.)
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It reminds me... :) #8 (permalink) Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:25 am   It reminds me... :)
 

Tamara wrote:
All is not gold that glitters.
(Just one small step more ;) :))

(By the way, In Russian it is exactly the same.)


This proverb has the opposite meaning, don't you think? We say it in Spanish too, but the one I prefer is:

Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda (Although the monkey dresses in silk, she is still a monkey) -- You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
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A good horse is never a bad color? #9 (permalink) Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:51 pm   A good horse is never a bad color?
 

Hi
Conchita wrote:
This proverb has the opposite meaning, don't you think?

Yes, Conchita, I know. It was just a (joking, but quite logical :)) next step to the oppisite meaning

from: A bad cover cannot hide a good book.
through: You can't judge a book by its cover.
to: All is not gold that glitters.

Just a joke... :)

More seriously: the more suitable equivalent I know is:
'fine dress helps to impress, but conversation/a good mind makes one what he is'
('Clothes do not make a man.')

Quote:
Although the monkey dresses in silk, she is still a monkey
:)
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