Stop trying to fix that old car; you are flogging a dead pony.
flog a dead pony
idiomTo attempt to get more out of something that cannot give more; to attempt to arouse fresh interest in something that is either hopeless or already settled.
The committee kept debating the failed project, but they were really just flogging a dead pony.
Despite the clear lack of public interest, the director insisted on reviving the play, effectively flogging a dead pony to an empty theater.
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beat a dead horse
To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.
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brown bread
[Cockney slang]dead
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come back from the dead
To experience a resurgence after one's productive years are assumed to have ended.
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dead 'n' buried
Contraction of dead and buried.
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dead air
An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.
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dead and buried
Of an issue, moot, passed, irrelevant, forgotten.
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dead asleep
Sleeping in a deep sleep
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dead cat bounce
A temporary recovery in the price of a financial instrument which has fallen rapidly and is expected to fall further in the long run.