flog/ drive/ whip/ foist on/ palm off

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentences?

I dreamed last night that I was flogged by Dr. Raine.

flog = whip

but

He tried to flog his old car, but no one would buy it. = He tried to drive his old car, but nobody bought it.

drive = Brit .; colloq . to sell something quickly or cheap , " drive "

drive = foist on = palm off

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V

[Rover_KE]

Hi, Vil,

It's OK, except for

drive = Brit .; colloq . to sell something quickly or cheap , " drive "

drive = foist on = palm off

I've been speaking colloquial BE for 70 years and have never known drive to have this meaning.

I advise you to forget it.

Rover

[Barb_D]

Is flog used that way, Rover?

[vil]

drive a hard bargain - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

flog = informal To publicize aggressively: flogging a new book.

flog = [Brit] Exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent

"He flogged his house in January" (Longman)

[Offroad]

To 'drive a hard bargain' is an idiom which has specific meaning.

It's like 'to pull someone's leg' = joke.

We don't say 'pull someone's arm' to meaning the same thing.

[I am not a teacher]

[vil]

Hi Offroad,

What are you talking about? You must have your little joke. I’m not a man to be trifled with. Don’t speak for nothing. Don’t go astray. The facts are not in your favor.

pull someone's leg

Play a joke on, tease, as in Are you serious about moving back in or are you pulling my leg?

drive a hard bargain
to work hard to negotiate prices or agreements in one's own favor. All right, sir, you drive a hard bargain. I'll sell you this car for $12,450. You drive a hard bargain, Jane, but I'll sign the contract.

drive a hard bargain
to demand a lot or refuse to give much when making an agreement with someone I'm impressed that you got £2000 for that car. You certainly drive a hard bargain.

drive a hard bargain - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

drive a hard bargain: Information from Answers.com

commonly . drive a hard bargain; bargain dip . conduct complex negotiations (correct - to take a tough stance ( in negotiations ) , no concessions mishas); difficult negotiations Economics . roughly to pursue their interests in the transaction

V.

[Rover_KE]

Is flog used that way, Rover?

Yes - though it's a bit dated nowadays.

I've not heard it for a long time.

Rover

[bertietheblue]

I dreamed last night that I was flogged by Dr. Raine.

flog = whip

V

Flogging (a) means beating with a whip, or possibly with another instrument ('suspected informers were flogged with chains before being killed') and (b) if with a whip, one which is usually many-tongued. It often takes place (c) in public and (d) as a form of punishment sanctioned by an institution, such as in the navy or a penal colony, or the state. This practice is also largely historical although flogging remains a form of punishment in some countries.

Whipping is more generic - to cane, birch, lash, flog and flagellate all mean to whip. Often, when we use 'whip', we think of a thin instrument - stick, rod, cane, leather strap - whose function may be, but is not necessarily, to whip ('In embarrassment, he whipped her legs with the wheat stalk'). Depending on the context, if you whip someone, you might just strike them once or repeatedly. Am I right: does to 'give something/someone a whip' mean to whip once, but to 'give something/someone a whipping' mean to beat with a whip (ie flog)?

[bertietheblue]

I should add that 'flogging' (and even more so 'flagellation') might suggest that erotic pleasure is gained, if not referring to flogging as an institutional form of punishment. My immediate thought with the sentence you provided was that the person was having a sado-masochistic fantasy about being 'punished' by their doctor.

[Offroad]

Hi Offroad,

What are you talking about? You must have your little joke. I’m not a man to be trifled with. Don’t speak for nothing. Don’t go astray. The facts are not in your favor.
V.

Not following. What did I do wrong?