A Gift Horse

Have you ever received a horse as a gift? If yes, have you ever checked it in the mouth? 😊

Let’s imagine, you have a very limited budget and you wish to give your friend a present on his birthday; all you can get him is a book or any other similar inexpensive gifts, and in return he treats you with contempt and criticizes the gift, because he considers the materialistic value of the present; here is the exact moment we can use the famous saying “never look a gift horse in the mouth” which in this post, we are going to dig into it.

Origin

The use of this saying traces back to Middle ages, 1546, used by John Heywood “No man ought to look a geuen hors in the mouth.” or even much older dates. It’s interesting to know that the age of a horse is determined by the length of its teeth, in a way that the longer the teeth, the older the horse is. This has been used as a method when buying a horse since long time ago. It might be common in its business market, but this action is considered as a sign of mistrust & rudeness in relationships.

Most proverbs are universal and they have been used since ancient times. The most interesting thing is that sometimes they are very similar, even in words and use in very different cultures. For instance, in Farsi language, the equivalent is “Don’t count the teeth of a gift horse” which refers to the exact same saying of “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.

Culture

It is generally accepted that we should not question the value of what we receive, but we should welcome it with politeness; it could be used even when talking about opportunities; yes, it is fine to check the pros and cons of an opportunity, but it’s better to be positive and grab the given chance. Actually, horse takes a figurative role in this proverb, and it refers to anything that you get from others as a gift; the message encourages us to be thankful and take advantage of the given opportunities or presents.

There are plenty of people who investigate the value of a gift and if it does not satisfy them, they scorn it. This might have happened to each and every one of us, that we receive a gift which we don’t like or it is way far from our interests; sometimes we really don’t know how to react, and often we try to pretend that the gift is just our cup of tea. However, there are people who are very ruthless and they don’t care if they hurt feelings when they speak out their minds.

To sum up, we should not criticize or question the things that we are offered, instead we should be grateful and appreciate the kindness of the giver as he/she must be treated with respect and politeness.

Examples 1

A: I really can’t believe this! He sent ONLY a bunch of roses for my birthday!!!

B: Come on Lila, you know that your father loves you and you shouldn’t criticize a gift like that. Why don’t you consider that maybe this was the best he could do? Or maybe he spent all he had? The important matter is that he remembered your birthday, and has sent all these beautiful roses.

Example 2

A: Pete is offering his small room for my stay! Why shouldn’t I stay in his larger room?

B: I guess you should be really thankful for that; these days few people have such generous offers! Consider the advantage, you don’t need to pay for hotel rooms.

If you have ever experieced such situations, please share it here. Also, please tell us what you think of this saying and if you agree with the idea that we should not question the value of a gift or not.

Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth

Robi B