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Sarting something new after a break.

重整旗鼓

Help someone out.

助人一臂之力

Try to make a point that the other person just doesn't understand.

白费力气做无用功

Don't criticize or refuse a gift you've been given for free.

别挑三拣四

(of a person) quite old

上年纪了、年纪大了（偏幽默 / 委婉）

From a reliable or original source

消息来源绝对可靠、第一手消息

You can give someone an opportunity, but you can't force them to take it.

强扭的瓜不甜

Be patient.

别急、慢着、冷静点、打住

Stop acting arrogant or superior.

别摆架子、别那么傲慢、别高高在上

Nothing can make me leave.

坚决不走、谁也拉不动我

A little-known person who unexpectedly succeeds.

黑马、冷门赢家

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Hi, everyone, 新年好, 恭喜发财！

新年好, 大家新年好！

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Woo-hoo！

So we talked about horses as animals. Let's focus on some horse related expressions. As far as I know, the English language is full of them.

Oh yeah, absolutely. So the first one is to get back in the saddle.

To get back in the saddle. Saddle is basically what you sit on, isn't it? When you're riding a horse.

Yeah, you put the saddle on first and then you sit in the saddle.

这个马鞍.

So when you say you’re getting back in the saddle, that means you're starting something new after a break. So for example, after that career break I’m getting back in the saddle and I'm going back into the same field.

Or after that painful breakup and 2 years of celibacy, I'm getting back in the saddle and ready to date again.

Precisely.

There's also an expression called giving someone a leg up.

Yeah, so that comes from how people would help someone into a horse. So if they were struggling to get on the horse, then someone would kind of help lift up their leg, so they could get in the saddle.

So does that mean someone helps you out.

Yeah, pretty much. So if you're struggling to start something, for example, you might say,  come on, let me give you a leg up.

I see, I see. But there are also other ones that just sounds weird, for example, what's that one? Beating a dead horse.

Ah yeah.

Why would you beat a dead horse?

Exactly.Why would you beat a dead horse? And that's what the expression means. You're trying to make a point that the other person just doesn't understand.

So,for example, he'll never ever come out to that party. He is happy at home. He doesn't like parties. You're beating a dead horse if you keep asking him to come out.

Is it a bit like talking to a brick wall?

Yeah, because you're trying to do something which is just not gonna work.

You know we have a similar saying in Chinese, but we say you played a musical instrument to a cow.

Yeah.

对牛弹琴is exactly like that, beating a dead horse, talking to a brick wall, playing musical instrument to a cow. Same thing.

Yeah, precisely. But what I also quite like is don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. So someone give you a gift which is a horse. You don't look at its mouth. Is it because looking into the mouth of the horse is the way you tell its age?

Yeah. So for example, expressions like someone is long in the tooth that actually comes from horses because horses like humans, our gums get lower as we get older. So if they're long in the tooth, that means that they are old.

Please don't say that to me.

I won't, I won't, I promise. But from a similar kind of origin, we say straight from the horse's mouth.

Straight from the horse's mouth.  What does that mean?

This means you're getting information from the most reliable source possible.

Yeah, but why?

Oh, the reason why we say that is again, you tell how healthy or how old a horses by looking in its mouth.

So if you're buying a horse and someone saying this is a really healthy young horse, then you'll just check the mouth to see if that's true. And that's the most reliable information.

I see. it's like I don't trust you. I need to check the horse's mouth myself.

Yeah.

But I do like instead of just idioms, there's a proverb you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

I love that proverb because it's so so true.

That just basically means you can force people to do things they don't want to do. You can try to force them, but they just won't do it.

Yeah, so you can also use it as in you're telling someone what to do. You're giving helpful advice, but they just choose to ignore it.

Now I've also heard people say things like hold your horses in spoken language.

Yeah.

What does that mean?

Hold your horses means be patient. Wait, don't gallop off, don't start running ahead, just be patient. Hold your horses.

That's the fiery-tempered one, isn't it? That's the fiery-tempered bit. It's like if you get angry with me or shouting at me, and I will be like 安澜, hold your horses.

Yeah, precisely. And then I would say something along the lines of get off your high horse.

Get off your high horse. This is about being arrogant,  isn't it?

Because you look at those old paintings from the 17th, 18th century. It's always the king or the important person sitting on a horse on a particularly high horse.

Exactly. So being on a high horse is that they kind of look down on other people. They're being arrogant.

Yeah. Now the last one we can look at is wild horses couldn't drag me away.

Wild horses couldn't drag me away. I don't think I've heard this one before.

So it means that you really want to stay somewhere or you really want to go somewhere. If someone says,  do you want to come to my party and you say I really want to go. You might say,  yeah, definitely I'll be there. Wild horses couldn't drag me away.

Ah, so I'm definitely gonna do it even something as wild and fiery as wild horses wouldn't be able to keep me away from this.

Exactly.

Ah, I see,  but we forgot one, dark horses.

So a dark horse is an unexpected winner. Or it's used to describe someone who has like something hidden, usually like a skill or something can be positive. It's usually positive. And it just means that it's something that people never knew about that person.

Is it coming from like a horse racing and dark horse is the one that people don't really bet on because they kind of think that he's not gonna win, but he's the one who wins the race.

Yeah. I think that's one understanding of it that I've heard. I'm not too sure, to be honest.

OK. I think we have gone through a lot of the expressions, we've talked about also a little bit of fun facts about horses. So as we approach the conclusion of our journey tonight, 安澜, what would you wish for our listeners in this special Year of the Horse?

I wish that your Year of the Horse is going to be exciting, filled with lots of possibilities, a long and exciting road. And hopefully we'll be there for some of your journey.

And beautifully said. And hopefully you'll take on new challenges with the energy and spirit of horse.

So you gallop off into the New Year and until next time.

Again 新年快乐！

新年快乐！

We’ll see you next time.

Bye

Bye.

排版长图：Jer.ry

文稿校对： Nancy & Jenny

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