Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

By Hilary Duff

导读:我们都经历过这种事。你高兴地打开一件礼物，想要知道里面是什么，然后你看到后非常失望。其实礼物只是友谊的象征，当你把它转为物质需求时，友谊也就变质了。

Holidays are a wonderful time of the year!They are a time when people slow down and take a break from their daily lives.

While holidays are celebrated in different ways,many have something in common—gift-giving!

And who doesn’t like to get a present.Covered in pretty paper,maybe tied with a bow or ribbon,a wrapped gift is a surprise.It could be anything!

“Oh,you really shouldn’t have! ” It is a common response when someone hands you a gift.We say this even when we are thinking to ourselves,“Yay!I got a present!”

Sometimes the gift is perfect.

“It’s just what I have always wanted! ” you might say.

Sometimes it’s not.

We have all been there.You happily tear open a gift,wondering what is inside.But then you see it and you are disappointed.But you must not show it.And you absolutely must not criticize the gift and make comments about why you don’t like it.

In other words,“don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.

This idiom is really old.

Way back in 1546,a man named John Heywood supposedly used this phrase in some Middle English text.(“No man ought to look a gift horse in the mouth.” )

However,some word experts say the idiom is much older than that.However old it is,people must have used it when gifting a horse was a common thing.

To understand this idiom,we must understand a bit about horse’s teeth.They grow over time.So,checking the length of the teeth is a way of knowing the horse’s age.Although I have never given or received a horse,I’m guessing a young horse makes a better gift than an old one.

However,checking the horse’s mouth would be a sign of mistrust towards the gift giver.This would be bad manners.And it might make the giver feel embarrassed or even angry!

The polite thing to do is simply to say “thank you” and accept the gift horse graciously.

These days,horses are not common gifts.But we commonly use this idiom.

Today “don’t(or never)look a gift horse in the mouth”means don’t find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor.Don’t be ungrateful when you receive a present,even if it’s not exactly what you wanted.If you complain about a gift someone has given you or a favor someone has done for you,you could be accused of looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Besides gifts,you can use this idiom for other things,such as a favor.

Let’s say you ask a friend to help cook a dish for a party you are throwing for a group of senior citizens in your neighborhood.

She comes to the dinner,smiling from ear to ear,and hands you the dish she has cooked.It is very burnt and it smells odd.But you don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.You thank her for her dish and the time she took to make it.Then you put it on the table...in the back...where people hopefully won’t see it.

So,next time you get a gift that is less than perfect,remember that it is not nice to look a gift horse in the mouth.After all,it’s the thought that counts.This means that it’s the thought of gift-giving and not the gift itself that is important.

And don’t worry.If you get something as a gift that you really don’t like,you can always pass it along to someone else who may actually like it.

In other words,you can always re-gift it!

节日是一年中最美好的时光。这是人们放慢脚步从日常生活中解脱出来小憩片刻的时候。

虽然节日有着不同的庆祝方式，但是都有一个共同点，那就是赠送礼物。

谁会不喜欢收到礼物呢？用精美的纸张包好，也许再用蝴蝶结或丝带绑好，包好的礼物就是个惊喜。里面可能装的是任何东西。

“哦，你太客气了！”这是有人送给你礼物时你会做出的常见回应，即使当时我们想的是：“耶！我收到礼物了！”

有时候礼物很完美。

你可能会说：“这正是我一直想要的。”

有时候就不是这样。

我们都经历过这种事。你高兴地打开一件礼物，想要知道里面是什么，然后你看到后非常失望。但是你不能把这种情绪表现出来，而且你绝对不能批评这件礼物，并说出你为什么不喜欢它。

换句话说，“不要检查礼物马的嘴巴”（不要对礼物挑三拣四）。

这句习语真的非常古老。

早在1546年，一位名为约翰·海伍德的男子在一些中世纪英语文章中用到了这句话。

然而，一些词汇专家表示，这句习语比这还要更加古老。不管有多古老，人们肯定是在把送马当常事时使用这个习语。

为了理解这句习语，我们必须了解一下马的牙齿，它们随着年纪增长而生长。所以，检查牙齿长度是了解马的年龄的一种办法。虽然我从没送过也没收到过马，但我猜小马比老马更适合当礼物。

然而，检查马的嘴巴对送礼者是一种不信任的表现，这太不礼貌了，会让送礼者感到尴尬甚至生气。

有礼貌的做法就只要说出“谢谢你”并且优雅地接受这件礼物。

现如今，马不再是一种常见的礼物，但是我们经常会用到这句习语。

今天，这句话的意思是不要对收到的礼物或恩惠挑毛病。收到礼物时别不领情，即使它不是你想要的。如果你抱怨别人送给你的礼物或是对你的恩惠，你可能会被指责“对礼物挑三拣四”。

除了礼物，你也可以使用这个习语表达其他东西，例如某种恩惠。

假设在你给附近老人举办的一场聚会上，你邀请一位朋友帮忙做一点饭菜。

她笑得合不拢嘴地来到晚宴上，然后把做好的饭菜递给你。饭菜烧焦了味道很难闻。但是你不想对礼物挑三拣四，你感谢她带来的饭菜以及为此付出的时间。然后你把它放在桌子上，但是放在人们可能会看不到的桌子后面。

所以，下次当你收到不那么完美的礼物，请记住，对礼物挑三拣四不好。毕竟，心意最重要，意思是送礼的心意比礼物本身更重要。

别担心，如果你收到确实不喜欢的礼物，你可以随时把它转送给其他可能真正喜欢它的人。

换句话说，你可以随时把它转送出去。