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What does "Refrain from enumeration the denta of gratuitous members of the equidae family" mean?

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@agibson7,

agibson7 wrote:

What does "Refrain from enumeration the denta of gratuitous members of the equidae family" mean?

It's a painfully clumsy rephrasing of the classic "don't look a gift-horse in the mouth".

People used to check the teeth of a horse before buying it (to check for health). But if someone gives you a horse (as a gift), then it would be considered rude to check it's health. Therefor, "don't look a gift-horse in the mouth".

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@agibson7,

agibson7 wrote:

What does "Refrain from enumeration the denta of gratuitous members of the equidae family" mean?

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Why?

Good show rose--I did not even read your answer.
I don't know why the question was asked.

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Quote:

Something like this: the value of a horse is related it its age - i.e., a younger horse is more valuable than an older horse.

You can determine the relative age of a horse by inspecting its teeth.
Back in the day, a horse was commonly given as a gift.

If a man received a horse as a gift, and then inspected inside its mouth, he was trying to assess the value of the gift he received. So, the saying means that you should not assess the value of any gift that you receive; rather you should be thankful for the thoughtfulness of the gift-giver.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_does_the_expression_Don't_look_the_gift_horse_in_the_mouth_come_from

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@Phoenix32890,

Perhaps that is true, however one would have to be ignorant of The Trojan Horse, so I still don't see the wisdom there at all.

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