Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

buy the same horse twice

/ˌbaɪ ðə ˌseɪm hoɹs ˈtwaɪs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.42 in modern English

Syllables: buy the same horse twice
IPA: /ˌbaɪ ðə ˌseɪm hoɹs ˈtwaɪs/

38

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

1

Syllables

14

Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

(in a negotiation) To trade or make concessions for something that has already been agreed upon.

American usage

Example Sentences

"We won't buy the same horse twice just to finalize this deal."
"“There was an expression we used at the embassy at the timethat trading with the Russians you had to buy the same horse twice,” Harriman recalled. […] He agreed that the whole negotiation we had just completed at Yalta would have to be developed again from the ground up. We had established nothing more than the machinery for renegotiation."
""[…]The United States will not play the game of accepting empty promises or yielding to threats. As former secretary of defence Bob Gates has said, we won't buy the same horse twice. We have made clear our openness to authentic negotiations with North Korea.[…]""
"“For the U.S. to be part of any negotiation with Iran, it has to show it is a trustworthy partner,’’ Mr. Zarif said. Picking up on an American term of art, he said he would not “buy the same horse twice.”"

Etymology

Perhaps alluding to the practice whereby a seller tricks a former owner into repurchasing a previously sold horse, often under disadvantageous terms.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌbaɪ ðə ˌseɪm hoɹs ˈtwaɪs/
British English: /ˌbaɪ ðə seɪm hɔːs ˈtwaɪs/

Usage

American usage

Questions

How do you pronounce buy the same horse twice?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌbaɪ ðə ˌseɪm hoɹs ˈtwaɪs/.
What does buy the same horse twice mean?: (in a negotiation) To trade or make concessions for something that has already been agreed upon.
Where does buy the same horse twice come from?: Perhaps alluding to the practice whereby a seller tricks a former owner into repurchasing a previously sold horse, often under disadvantageous terms.

How to pronounce buy the same horse twice

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