Select the appropriate meaning of the given idiom:
"Flog a dead horse"
(A) to revive interest in the dead
(B) to be cruel towards the weak
(C) to beat up an emaciated animal
(D) to waste one's efforts on the unachievable
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (D) Only
To flog a dead horse means to waste one's effort on something that cannot succeed, such as a cause already lost or a matter already settled. Beating a dead horse can never make it move, so the effort is useless; this is meaning (D).
Example: Asking the board to bring back the old plan is flogging a dead horse; it was rejected long ago.