IdiomNature
Croatian
CroatianMlatiti praznu slamu
Meaning: To engage in pointless talk or effort.
Literally: To thresh empty straw
Example: “Sastanak je trajao tri sata, a samo smo mlatili praznu slamu.” — The meeting lasted three hours and we were just beating a dead horse.
English equivalent: To beat a dead horse
Origin: Threshing straw that has already been threshed brings out no grain. Threshing empty straw is talking or working without any result. The phrase is shared with Serbian and Bosnian. No particular story lies behind it.
Equivalents in other languages
Lithuanian: Pilstyti iš tuščio į kiaurą Literally: To pour from the empty into the leaky
Arabic: يضرب في حديد بارد (yadrib fi hadid barid) Literally: To strike cold iron
English: beat a dead horse
More Croatian idioms
- Pasti s kruške To be clueless and out of touch.
- Ići niz dlaku To go smoothly and agreeably.
- Glavom kroz zid To stubbornly attempt the impossible.
- Okrenuti ploču To abruptly change your tune.
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