Spanish to English--gift horse

Posted by Barney on December 11, 2001

In Reply to: Spanish to English--gift horse posted by R. Berg on December 11, 2001

: : : this was translated from spanish to english in spanish it is:A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente

: : :
: : : In english it is: To horse given does not look it itself the tooth

: : : The problem is that it is supposed to be one of those common english sayings that has a point to it. Please help.

: : The proverb in English is "don't look a gift horse in the mouth." You can find a discussion of it in the Search box, but it means, simply, that if you get something for free, you shouldn't examine its value too closely or critically (as you might assess the value of a horse from its teeth.) Be happy it's free.

: Anyway, the literal translation doesn't render the Spanish sentence accurately. The meaning is more like "With a gift horse, don't look at its tooth."
: no mira = don't look

Or as Babel fish would have it: 'At given horse the tooth is not watched to him' or, from English to Spanish via Babel 'Nunca mire un caballo del regalo en la boca'

See: the meaning and origin of the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".