That’s a good one. I married a redheaded stepchild, come to think of it, and I pity the fool who would try to beat her; she’s a tough cookie. I don’t think I’ve ever used the idiom in question, but if I had to describe beating something in a hyperbolic fashion, I’d go with the rented mule.
My gearhead buddies had a phrase of high praise for their fastest hotrods: they’d say “it runs like a raped ape.” But that’s another one that doesn’t get used in my circles anymore, for obvious reasons. (We still like our cars, but believe it or not we’re not clueless teenagers anymore.)
