On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:50:10 -0600, "B.C. MALLAM"
wrote:

I know it is an advance on pay but where did the term "dead horse" come
from?

Here's one explanation:

British seamen were often ashore for significant periods between
voyages. They tended to live in boarding houses near the docks as
they sought a berth. Often they ran out of money and the innkeepers
carried them on credit. When they got a berth the ship owner would
advance a month's wages so that they could clear their debt ashore.
During the first month aboard the diet was generally "salt horse"
(beef of low quality preserved with salt). It was not "haute
cuisine." :-)

At the end of the month the crew wouild make an effigy of a horse and
with great ceremony set it on fire and throw it overboard. This
celebrated the end of having to eat "salt horse."

There are other explanations, I'm told, but this one is as good as
any! ;-)