It could also just be English if you only speak English.

  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    6 hours ago

    “Don’t look at the teeth of a gifted horse”

    “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Yours makes way more sense

    Um, it’s the same statement: One could be a direct translation of the other. How can one make more sense?

    • BmeBenji@lemm.ee
      2·
      5 hours ago

      One is phrased with specificity, implying the action is extremely particular. The other one makes it sound like the horse is likely to bite you if you’re looking in its mouth too closely

      • Magnus the Punk Cat@slrpnk.net
        1·
        4 hours ago

        I always thought it was about how good were the horse’s teeth, since older horses usually get dental health issues and that usually has to do with how much care it had and / or it’s age.