Our next State of Origin entry is an oldie but a goodie – ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’.
The meaning of the proverb? When receiving a gift be grateful for what it is; don’t imply you wished for more by assessing its value.
The meaning hasn’t changed too much over time and is still relevant today. What’s interesting however, is how this proverb came about.
As horses age they get more teeth and their existing teeth change shape and project forward – Bugs Bunny style if you get my drift. You can determine the age and the therefore the usefulness of a horse by the state of its teeth. Back in the day when people received horses as gifts, recipients would check the horse’s teeth to determine the age and value of the equine gift.
Rude? Perhaps not back then when items and indeed people were bought and sold with livestock.
But now it is considered a big social neigh, neigh!
