Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
Meaning: Don't question the value of a gift.
Origin: A horse's age can be judged by its teeth, so inspecting a gift horse's mouth means checking its value — ungracious in the recipient. Saint Jerome cited the Latin noli equi dentes inspicere donati in the 4th century, and John Heywood's 1546 collection has it in English.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: À cheval donné, on ne regarde pas les dents (literally: Don't look at the teeth of a gifted horse)
- Spanish: A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente (literally: Don't look at the tooth of a gifted horse)
- Japanese: 貰った物にケチをつけるな (Moratta mono ni kechi wo tsukeru na) (literally: Don't find fault with what you received)
- German: Einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul (literally: One does not look into the mouth of a gifted nag)
More proverbs about Morality
- If the shoe fits, wear it — Accept criticism that accurately applies to you.
- The fish rots from the head down — Problems in an organization or society start at the top, with its leaders.
- The axe forgets, but the tree remembers — Those who cause harm often forget quickly, while those who suffer carry the wound far lon…
- A house divided against itself cannot stand — Internal conflict destroys an organization from within; unity is essential for survival.
- Judge not, lest ye be judged — We should refrain from judging others because we ourselves are imperfect.
- If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your own path — Helping others ultimately benefits yourself as well.
From our tongue twisters
- Sex laxar i en laxask. — A short 'x/lax/ks' crunch — Swedish's 'x' sounds like 'ks', which doubles the trap.
- Sju sjösjuka sjömän skötte sjuttiosju sjösjuka sjölejon på skeppet Shanghai. — An unstoppable 'sj/sk/sh' onslaught — the Swedish sj-sound (a unique voiceless fricative)…
- Pecyn o bersli heb ei brisio, prisio'r persli heb ei becynnu. — A 'p/b/pr/br' mutation drill — Welsh initial consonant mutations mean the same root sound…