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Angliholic Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

I never looked a free truck in my mouth

He won't suffer along with me. I never looked a free truck in my mouth--or engine.

Hi,
A colleague asked me the above from a novel, and it's the only context I get. Does it make sense to you? Thanks.
  

Top answer

It seems to be a modern variation on the old saw Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. The point is that you can tell the age of a horse by the condition of its teeth. It would be an affront to someone who gave you a horse for a gift if you immediately inspected its teeth....

— AlpheccaStars

  • It seems to be a modern variation on the old saw Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
  • The point is that you can tell the age of a horse by the condition of its teeth.
  • It would be an affront to someone who gave you a horse for a gift if you immediately inspected its teeth....
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3 Answers
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It seems to be a modern variation on the old saw
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
The point is that you can tell the age of a horse by the condition of its teeth. It would be an affront to someone who gave you a horse for a gift if you immediately inspected its teeth....
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Is your colleague sure it was "in my mouth". It seems to me it should be "in the mouth".

He won't suffer along with me has to be taken literally because we have no context to say who he or me are.

I never looked a free truck in my/the mouth means I have never complained about anything that was given to me (for free). The sudden change to engine as an after
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A better expression for "Don't look in the mouth" as applied to a truck would be "Don't look under the hood (or bonnet, if you're a Brit)"
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