carry coals to Newcastle

carry coals to Newcastle
carry coals to Newcastle
Prov. to do something unnecessary; to do something that is redundant or duplicative. (Newcastle is an English town from which coal was shipped to other parts of England.) •

Mr. Smith is so rich he doesn't need any more money. To give him a gift certificate is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

* * *
{v. phr.} To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. * /The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle./ * /Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to cure a cold./ (Newcastle is an English city near many coal mines, and coal is sent out from there to other places.)

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • carry coals to Newcastle — To take a thing where it is already most abundant • • • Main Entry: ↑coal * * * carry/take/coals to Newcastle british phrase to supply something to a place or person when they do not need it because they have a lot of it already Thesaurus …   Useful english dictionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — {v. phr.} To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. * /The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle./ * /Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Carry coals to Newcastle — Newcastle New cast le, prop. n. A town in England. [PJC] {Carry coals to Newcastle} to do something utterly superfluous; to do something useless or wasteful; from the nearness of Newcastle to the coal mining district. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • carry coals to Newcastle — carry/take coals to Newcastle British to take something to a place or a person that has a lot of that thing already. Exporting pine to Scandinavia is a bit like carrying coals to Newcastle …   New idioms dictionary

  • carry\ coals\ to\ Newcastle — v. phr. To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle. Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to cure a… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • To carry coals to Newcastle — Carry Car ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Carried}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Carrying}.] [OF. carier, charier, F. carrier, to cart, from OF. car, char, F. car, car. See {Car}.] 1. To convey or transport in any manner from one place to another; to bear; often… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • carry coals to Newcastle — Meaning To do something pointless and superfluous. Origin Newcastle in England was a well known coal mining area and the first coal exporting port. Taking coal there was an architypally pointless activity, on a par with selling snow to Eskimos …   Meaning and origin of phrases

  • carry coals to Newcastle — verb To do something that is unneeded or redundant …   Wiktionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — take an unnecessary item to an area where it is already plentiful (such as taking ice to Antarctica) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — idi to provide something already present in abundance …   From formal English to slang

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”