Question

Beat a Dead Horse to pursue a useless goal; to continue fighting a battle which has been lost; to keep arguing a point which has already been decided

Accepted Answer

He tried to convince his sister, but he was beating a dead horse. This saying goes back to the ancient Roman playwright Plautus who used it in 195 b.c. in one of his plays. The dramatic performance was of trying to whip a dead horse to get up and carry the load it was supposed to be moving. This action was shown to accomplish nothing. Today we say that anyone pursuing an issue that is already settled is "beating a dead horse."

Idiom	Beat a Dead Horse
Example	He tried to convince his sister, but he was beating a dead horse.
Meaning	to pursue a useless goal; to continue fighting a battle which has been lost; to keep arguing a point which has already been decided
Origin	This saying goes back to the ancient Roman playwright Plautus who used it in 195 b.c. in one of his plays. The dramatic performance was of trying to whip a dead horse to get up and carry the load it was supposed to be moving. This action was shown to accomplish nothing. Today we say that anyone pursuing an issue that is already settled is "beating a dead horse."

Dead Horse Beat Convince Sister Beating Pursue Useless