1 beat a dead horse | Definition of beat a dead horse

beat a dead horse

idiom

Definition of beat a dead horse

chiefly US, informal
1 : to keep talking about a subject that has already been discussed or decided I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I still don't understand what happened.
2 : to waste time and effort trying to do something that is impossible Is it just beating a dead horse to ask for another recount of the votes?