Chrysti The Wordsmith: Gift Horse - 1

Greetings This is Christy Smith from Montana State University in Bozeman. Proverbs reflect the accumulated wisdom of a culture. Proverbs are generally simple statements designed to instruct as in Don't judge a book by its cover or blood is thicker than water or Haste makes waste. English speakers often call on the proverb. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth to caution against questioning the value of a gift. The proverb says In other words it's bad form to find fault with something that someone freely gives you the logic supporting this expression is that one can evaluate a horse's age and health by examining its teeth. Our young animals mouth is full of smooth clean and compact teeth but as 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 animals mall for signs of aging or poor health. You gratefully

accept the horse whether it's young or old sound or sick and don't look that gift horse in the mouth. This seems to be common wisdom in the western world versions of the expression are found in Latin Spanish Portuguese Russian and German. One of its earliest English citations dates to fifteen forty six. I'm Christie the wordsmith next time on the series. Another proverb starring the horse. Good Dave of a horse. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises. A high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry Web dot com.