You Can Lead a Horse to Water Joke

Meaning:

The phrase "you can lead a horse to water, only you tin can't make it drink" is a proverb that means you can provide someone with a dainty opportunity, but you can't brand them take it if they don't want to.

Example: My friend Brock doesn't have a chore so he'due south struggling to make ends meet. I offered him money to help out, but to my surprise, he refused to take it. Afterwards, I told my dad: "Information technology's hard to believe that Brock declined my money considering his circumstances."

"Well," said my dad, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't brand it drinkable."

Synonyms / Related Phrases:

Nothing to list here.

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The Origin of "You Tin can Pb a Horse To Water…"

Where does the phrase "yous can lead a horse to h2o, but you tin can't make information technology beverage" come from? Information technology sounds like an expression an bellyaching horseback rider would come with. Think about it: After riding around for a bit, the rider might lead his or her horse to a nearby h2o source so they tin beverage. This would be an ideal opportunity for the equus caballus to hydrate itself. Only what if the horse doesn't want to? Well, as the proverb goes, "you lot tin't make information technology beverage."

So how sometime is this maxim? This phrase (well, the idea of it anyways) is thought to get back to the twelfth century. It's said to have made an appearance in a book chosen Erstwhile English language Homilies, 1175:

"Hwa is thet mei thet hors wettrien the him-self nule drinken?"

Annotation: I've seen this quote translated two different means. I'll list them below:

ane. "Who can give water to the equus caballus that volition not drink of its ain accord?"
2. "Who is he that may water the horse and not drink himself?"

With the commencement translation, the idea of the proverb is indeed being expressed. However, in the second translation, information technology sounds similar subsequently giving his equus caballus h2o to drink, the man drinks some too. That doesn't sound similar it has much to practise with the proverb, but then again, this might be a misunderstanding on my part. In any case, since I'm unsure of which translation is more accurate, I'll just say that the idea of this expression possibly dates dorsum to the year 1175.

Anyway, the phrase definitely dates back to the 16th century. It appears in a book during that fourth dimension by John Heywood called A Dialogue Conteinyng The Nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the English Natural language, 1546:

"A man may well bryng a equus caballus to the h2o, but he can not make hym drynke without he will."

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Did You Know?

Horses are big animals and that ways they are big drinkers. They tin potable anywhere between 5-15 gallons of h2o a day.

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Example of "You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But You lot Can't Make Information technology Potable"

• John wanted to start eating healthier, but he didn't know where to begin; so, he asked his friend for communication. His friend recommended some foods to eat and besides told him about a website containing uncomplicated instructions on how to hands gear up salubrious meals.

  Despite his friend's aid, John'south eating habits stayed the aforementioned. Thus, as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't brand it drink.

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Source: https://knowyourphrase.com/you-can-lead-a-horse-to-water

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