Re: The term "flog a dead horse"

--- In bolger@y..., "senorian" <senorian@h...> wrote:

> > Hi
> I believe that this "narrow path" was (is?) called a spurway

Hi,
I've heard that term,spurway,used in connection with railroads not
with river travel.Up here,along the various old canals,the paths
where called......wait for it........tow paths.Or at least that is
what the literature from Parks Canada suggests :-)
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,sneaking a quicky in here at work while people marvel
at all our newly felled snow out through the windows,from along the
St.Lawrence.......

--

- In bolger@y..., "BANKS, Kevin" <kevin.banks@a...> wrote:

> Horses used to be used to pull barges along a cannel. There is

usually a

> narrow walk path along the banks of old cannels for this purpose.

Perhaps

> they were once used to pull ships down a river to dock or something.
>
> Kevin
>
>
> Hi

I believe that this "narrow path" was (is?) called a spurway

Horses used to be used to pull barges along a cannel. There is usually a
narrow walk path along the banks of old cannels for this purpose. Perhaps
they were once used to pull ships down a river to dock or something.

Kevin

-----Original Message-----
From:wmrpage@...[mailto:wmrpage@...]
Sent: 16 November 2002 03:53:AM
To:bolger@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [bolger] The term "flog a dead horse"

In a message dated 11/15/02 3:07:47 PM Central Standard Time,
michialt@...writes:

> I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional work, BUT it
> used lots of real life events as basis for the stories. Supposedly this
> practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.
>

It is a pity you can't recall the source! One can only wonder what
additional
"historical detail" was provided! The author deserves some recognition for
such inspired idiocy!

Most historical nonsense has a pedigree of some sort - writers tend to
repeat
what they've read (e.g. the fallacy of the anti-scurbotic properties of
Capt.
Cook's sauerkraut, which can be traced back to Capt. Cook himself, gets
repeated ad infinitum in secondary works). This notion of horses drawing
ships stands out for, as far as I can tell, the absence of any tradition
that
can explain where it came from. It seems to have been pure invention. The
author of such a flight of fancy should not go unrecognized for his/her
contribution to the sum total of human ignorance.

Ciao for Niao,
Bill in MN

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Bolger rules!!!
- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In bolger@y..., "Stan" <stankellar@h...> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I just thought it may interest someone, since the term appears

often

> here.
> Won't post here any more.
> Stan

Why not?

I didn't know what horse lattitudes ment until you did.

--- In bolger@y..., "David Romasco" <dromasco@g...> wrote:

> OK, fellow Bolgeristas,

> As for horses pulling ships through the doldrums... whoever

originated

> THAT chestnut should either refrain from playing card games

involving

> money, or perhaps stop using epoxy in enclosed spaces.. :-)
>
> David Romasco
>

Yes! Everybody knows they used mermaids and unicorns.

Nels

OK, fellow Bolgeristas,

I quote the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:

"Beat A Dead Horse - Also, flog a dead horse. Try to revive interest in
a hopeless issue. For example, Politicians who favor the old single-tax
idea are beating a dead horse. From the 1600s on the term dead horse was
used figuratively to mean LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKsomething of no
current value,RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK specifically an advance in pay
or other debt that had to be worked (LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION
MARKfloggedRIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK) off. [Second half of 1800s]"

As for horses pulling ships through the doldrums... whoever originated
THAT chestnut should either refrain from playing card games involving
money, or perhaps stop using epoxy in enclosed spaces.. :-)

David Romasco

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In my humble opinion, this *thread* is now flogging a dead horse.

Sorry. The temptation just became irresistable...

porky

--- In bolger@y..., "sallobadon" <sjdand@c...> wrote:
> --- In bolger@y..., wmrpage@a... wrote:
> > In a message dated 11/15/02 3:07:47 PM Central Standard Time,
> > michialt@u... writes:
> >
> > > I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional
work,
> BUT it
> > > used lots of real life events as basis for the stories.
> Supposedly this
> > > practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.
> > >
> >
> > It is a pity you can't recall the source! One can only wonder
what
> additional
> > "historical detail" was provided! The author deserves some
> recognition for
> > such inspired idiocy!
> >
> > Most historical nonsense has a pedigree of some sort - writers
tend
> to repeat
> > what they've read (e.g. the fallacy of the anti-scurbotic
> properties of Capt.
> > Cook's sauerkraut, which can be traced back to Capt. Cook
himself,
> gets
> > repeated ad infinitum in secondary works). This notion of horses
> drawing
> > ships stands out for, as far as I can tell, the absence of any
> tradition that
> > can explain where it came from. It seems to have been pure
> invention. The
> > author of such a flight of fancy should not go unrecognized for
> his/her
> > contribution to the sum total of human ignorance.
> >
> > Ciao for Niao,
> > Bill in MN
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> ok Here it is __--- Horses pulled river barges in England ,
along
> the( tow path )all paths beside rivers in the uk are called
towpaths
> Sauerkraut( pickled Cabbage )Was just a way to keep food from going
> bad on long voyages , Like having beer on board instead of water ,
> beer keeps for ever , we call it Ale, Flogging a dead horse , just
> means , Give up , no matter how much you encourage (Flog = Whip )
the
> horse to move , Its not going anywhere , Steve

--- In bolger@y..., wmrpage@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 11/15/02 3:07:47 PM Central Standard Time,
> michialt@u... writes:
>
> > I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional work,

BUT it

> > used lots of real life events as basis for the stories.

Supposedly this

> > practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.
> >
>
> It is a pity you can't recall the source! One can only wonder what

additional

> "historical detail" was provided! The author deserves some

recognition for

> such inspired idiocy!
>
> Most historical nonsense has a pedigree of some sort - writers tend

to repeat

> what they've read (e.g. the fallacy of the anti-scurbotic

properties of Capt.

> Cook's sauerkraut, which can be traced back to Capt. Cook himself,

gets

> repeated ad infinitum in secondary works). This notion of horses

drawing

> ships stands out for, as far as I can tell, the absence of any

tradition that

> can explain where it came from. It seems to have been pure

invention. The

> author of such a flight of fancy should not go unrecognized for

his/her

> contribution to the sum total of human ignorance.
>
> Ciao for Niao,
> Bill in MN
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

ok Here it is __--- Horses pulled river barges in England , along
the( tow path )all paths beside rivers in the uk are called towpaths
Sauerkraut( pickled Cabbage )Was just a way to keep food from going
bad on long voyages , Like having beer on board instead of water ,
beer keeps for ever , we call it Ale, Flogging a dead horse , just
means , Give up , no matter how much you encourage (Flog = Whip ) the
horse to move , Its not going anywhere , Steve

In a message dated 11/15/02 3:07:47 PM Central Standard Time,
michialt@...writes:

> I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional work, BUT it
> used lots of real life events as basis for the stories. Supposedly this
> practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.
>

PLEASE don't be offended by my emails... I never meant them to be
offensive, but just humorous.... Sorry if I offended you

At 10:04 PM 11/15/2002 +0000, you wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I just thought it may interest someone, since the term appears often
>here.
>Won't post here any more.
>Stan
>
>
>
>Bolger rules!!!
>- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
>- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
>- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
>- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
>01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
>- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hello all,

I just thought it may interest someone, since the term appears often
here.
Won't post here any more.
Stan

This is the basis of a particular nautical use of the term, is that
the point of the story below?

In general the term just means that if you whip a dead horse you get
no more from the activity than if you did not whip it, so the
activity is not productive. Generally used by people with slow
connections (neural or internet) to describe valid arguments they
didn't think up first...

--- In bolger@y..., "Stan" <stankellar@h...> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
> interest.
>
>
> Flog a dead horse
> Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
> profit, seamen used

Actually I was slightly off. Here is a link that also makes reference to
it:http://www.lizardkingarts.com/Horse%20Latitudes.htm

The practice was that sailors would throw live horses overboard to save on
fresh water for drinking while stuck in the Doldrums.

At 03:10 PM 11/15/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>The way that I read the story was that the horses were thrown overboard
>with ropes back to the bow of the ship, and a row boat was used to "guide"
>them. The horses did the swimming and save the crew the labor of rowing to
>tow the boat.
>
>I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional work, BUT it
>used lots of real life events as basis for the stories. Supposedly this
>practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.
>
>At 02:42 PM 11/15/2002 -0600, you wrote:
> >hmmm. how is a horse going to tow a ship...?
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Michial Thompson (At Work)" <michialt@...>
> >To: <bolger@yahoogroups.com>
> >Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 2:40 PM
> >Subject: Re: [bolger] The term "flog a dead horse"
> >
> >
> > > Stan;
> > >
> > > Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought I was going to learn
> >something
> > > when I first started reading, but then I ended with more confusion that I
> > > started.!!
> > >
> > > :)
> > >
> > > I used to think that the phrase had something to do with the horses that
> > > were used and abandoned in the Daldrums. I had read somewhere that often
> > > times horses were brought on ship, and used to tow the ship through the
> > > daldrums, and then cut free and left for fishbait after the winds picked
> >up
> > > again. Not too sure how true that was though. Always seemed like a lot
> >of
> > > weight to carry along just to abandon like that, unless they also served
> >as
> > > food for the crew too.
> > >
> > > At 08:02 PM 11/15/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> > > >Hello all,
> > > >
> > > >I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
> > > >interest.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Flog a dead horse
> > > >Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
> > > >profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
> > > >usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing on.
> > > >Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
> > > >they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they certainly
> > > >celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a new
> > > >pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or hauling
> > > >one up a mast.
> > > >Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as one
> > > >does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers, who
> > > >had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to describe
> > > >their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that was
> > > >still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.
> > > >
> > > >The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
> > > >therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
> > > >pay" or somesuch thing...
> > > >
> > > >Stan
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Bolger rules!!!
> > > >- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> > > >- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> > > >- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> > > >- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
> > > >01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> > > >- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > > >- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > > >
> > > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
>http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Bolger rules!!!
> > > - no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> > > - stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> > > - add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> > > - To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
> >01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> > > - Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > > - Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > >
> > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >Bolger rules!!!
> >- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> >- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> >- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> >- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
> >01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> >- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
>Bolger rules!!!
>- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
>- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
>- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
>- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
>01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
>- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

The way that I read the story was that the horses were thrown overboard
with ropes back to the bow of the ship, and a row boat was used to "guide"
them. The horses did the swimming and save the crew the labor of rowing to
tow the boat.

I cannot remember the name of the book, it was a fictional work, BUT it
used lots of real life events as basis for the stories. Supposedly this
practice is what ended up introducing horses to North America.

At 02:42 PM 11/15/2002 -0600, you wrote:

>hmmm. how is a horse going to tow a ship...?
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Michial Thompson (At Work)" <michialt@...>
>To: <bolger@yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 2:40 PM
>Subject: Re: [bolger] The term "flog a dead horse"
>
>
> > Stan;
> >
> > Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought I was going to learn
>something
> > when I first started reading, but then I ended with more confusion that I
> > started.!!
> >
> > :)
> >
> > I used to think that the phrase had something to do with the horses that
> > were used and abandoned in the Daldrums. I had read somewhere that often
> > times horses were brought on ship, and used to tow the ship through the
> > daldrums, and then cut free and left for fishbait after the winds picked
>up
> > again. Not too sure how true that was though. Always seemed like a lot
>of
> > weight to carry along just to abandon like that, unless they also served
>as
> > food for the crew too.
> >
> > At 08:02 PM 11/15/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> > >Hello all,
> > >
> > >I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
> > >interest.
> > >
> > >
> > >Flog a dead horse
> > >Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
> > >profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
> > >usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing on.
> > >Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
> > >they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they certainly
> > >celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a new
> > >pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or hauling
> > >one up a mast.
> > >Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as one
> > >does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers, who
> > >had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to describe
> > >their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that was
> > >still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.
> > >
> > >The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
> > >therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
> > >pay" or somesuch thing...
> > >
> > >Stan
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Bolger rules!!!
> > >- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> > >- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> > >- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> > >- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
> > >01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> > >- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > >- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > >
> > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Bolger rules!!!
> > - no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> > - stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> > - add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> > - To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
>01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> > - Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > - Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>Bolger rules!!!
>- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
>- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
>- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
>- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
>01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
>- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Stan,
I seem to recall that there was a period when live stock were
carried on sailing ships to the"new world" (or was it the other way?)
and when a ship hit the doldrums,supplies sometimes ran low...the
first things to be jetisoned were things that required considerable
watering/food,like horses.Thus heave-ho over the side they went along
with other creatures too.I think this is where the term horse
latitudes comes from.Not too sure this was a regular occurance
(throwing horses overboard) but in that time of really slow
communication methods,I suspect that it need to have occured only a
few times to make it become the stuff of legends,told and told some
more around fireplaces,stoves and ovens.Who needs T.V,videos or pills
when there are such great tales being told before bedtime?!
Anyhow,something has got you going(UHMW?PLWOOD?) and you may
have a point, so why not jump in with something juicy for the rest of
us to go crazy with as winter creeps closer?
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan

--- In bolger@y..., "Stan" <stankellar@h...> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
> interest.
>
>
> Flog a dead horse
> Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
> profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
> usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing
on.
> Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
> they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they
certainly
> celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a
new
> pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or
hauling
> one up a mast.
> Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as
one
> does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers,
who
> had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to
describe
> their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that
was
> still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.
>
> The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
> therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
> pay" or somesuch thing...
>
> Stan

hmmm. how is a horse going to tow a ship...?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michial Thompson (At Work)" <michialt@...>
To: <bolger@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: [bolger] The term "flog a dead horse"

> Stan;
>
> Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought I was going to learn
something
> when I first started reading, but then I ended with more confusion that I
> started.!!
>
> :)
>
> I used to think that the phrase had something to do with the horses that
> were used and abandoned in the Daldrums. I had read somewhere that often
> times horses were brought on ship, and used to tow the ship through the
> daldrums, and then cut free and left for fishbait after the winds picked
up
> again. Not too sure how true that was though. Always seemed like a lot
of
> weight to carry along just to abandon like that, unless they also served
as
> food for the crew too.
>
> At 08:02 PM 11/15/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> >Hello all,
> >
> >I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
> >interest.
> >
> >
> >Flog a dead horse
> >Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
> >profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
> >usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing on.
> >Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
> >they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they certainly
> >celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a new
> >pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or hauling
> >one up a mast.
> >Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as one
> >does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers, who
> >had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to describe
> >their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that was
> >still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.
> >
> >The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
> >therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
> >pay" or somesuch thing...
> >
> >Stan
> >
> >
> >
> >Bolger rules!!!
> >- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
> >- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
> >- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
> >- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
> >01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
> >- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
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Stan;

Don't take this the wrong way, but I thought I was going to learn something
when I first started reading, but then I ended with more confusion that I
started.!!

:)

I used to think that the phrase had something to do with the horses that
were used and abandoned in the Daldrums. I had read somewhere that often
times horses were brought on ship, and used to tow the ship through the
daldrums, and then cut free and left for fishbait after the winds picked up
again. Not too sure how true that was though. Always seemed like a lot of
weight to carry along just to abandon like that, unless they also served as
food for the crew too.

At 08:02 PM 11/15/2002 +0000, you wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
>interest.
>
>
>Flog a dead horse
>Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
>profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
>usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing on.
>Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
>they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they certainly
>celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a new
>pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or hauling
>one up a mast.
>Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as one
>does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers, who
>had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to describe
>their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that was
>still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.
>
>The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
>therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
>pay" or somesuch thing...
>
>Stan
>
>
>
>Bolger rules!!!
>- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
>- stay on topic, stay on thread, punctuate, no 'Ed, thanks, Fred' posts
>- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts and <snip> away
>- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
>01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
>- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>- Open discussion:bolger_coffee_lounge-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject tohttp://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Hello all,

I have seen this term used here on occasion. Thought this may be of
interest.

Flog a dead horse
Because a dead horse was useless and could no longer be worked for
profit, seamen used to describe as 'dead-horse time' the period of
usually a month for which they were paid in advance when signing on.
Perhaps having spent all the money before setting sail, they felt
they were then working for nothing. Be that as it may, they certainly
celebrated the end of the dead-horse month and the beginning of a new
pay period by parading an effigy of a horse round the ship or hauling
one up a mast.
Flogging a dead horse was therefore working (expending energy, as one
does in flogging) for nothing, so to speak. Or perhaps officers, who
had the power to punish seamen by flogging, used the term to describe
their exasperation: getting good or extra work out of a crew that was
still working off its dead-horse time was flogging the dead horse.

The term flog is also a British alternative to the word "give" and
therefore the term could mean "don't give a period of work for no
pay" or somesuch thing...

Stan

Re: The term &quot;flog a dead horse&quot;

Re: The term "flog a dead horse"