Interesting column but didn’t answer the question.
I’m pretty sure the term “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” comes from the story of the Trojan horse. The invading armies presented this giant wooden horse to Troy as a gift, with soldiers inside it. Once inside the walls, the soldiers emerged from the gift and sacked Troy.
Actually, the expression should be “always look a gift horse in the mouth” – you never know what motive may be hidden inside.
Actually, the column in question, What’s the origin of “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”? is a Mailbag column, written not by Cecil, but by one of his assistants on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, in this case Ken. As such, it’ll be moved over to the appropriate forum shortly.
As to your comments, I believe that the column is correct, despite a great many ill-informed cartoonists who use the saying as a caption for the Trojan Horse. The idea is that it’s a gift, so you should be thankful. Even if it’s an old gluefooted nag, it’s an old gluefooted nag that you didn’t have before. On the other hand, the Trojan Horse is the origin of the expression “Never trust Greeks bearing gifts”, originally, “I do not trust Greeks, even when they bear gifts”, which I believe is originally from the Aeneid.
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
I believe that the article to which you are referring is the one mentioned by our friend Chronos.
Since the article is a mailbag answer, not a Straight Dope column, this thread is leaving the Comments on Cecil’s Columns forum and going to visit my colleague CKDextHavn in the Comments on Mailbag Answers forum.
I always thought the lesson of the Trojan horse was “Beware of gifts bearing Greeks.”