Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

It's not a good idea to find fault with something that someone gives you for free. That's the plain English translation of the common expression "don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

The logic supporting this notion is that one can evaluate a horse's age and health by examining its teeth. A young animal's mouth is full of smooth, clean, compact teeth, but at the horse ages, the teeth become increasingly darker and more grooved, and appear to lengthen year by year.

So, if someone is kind enough to GIVE you a horse, don't insult his generosity or ruin a friendship by immediately inspecting the animal's teeth, is what this proverb literally tells us. You gratefully accept the horse, whether it's young or old, sound or sick.

Versions of this expression appear in Latin, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The Germans say "Einem geschenkten Gaul nicht ins Maul sehen." Its earliest English citation, from 1510, reads "A gyuen hors may not be loked in the tethe."

Radio Script > Gift Horse