carry coals to Newcastle

carry coals to Newcastle
carry coals to Newcastle
To take a thing where it is already most abundant
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Main Entry: ↑coal

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to supply something to a place or person when they do not need it because they have a lot of it already
Thesaurus: general words meaning to givesynonym
Main entry: coal

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New|cas|tle «NOO KAS uhl, -KAHS-; NYOO-», noun.carry coals to Newcastle, a) to do something unnecessary; waste one's time, effort, resources, or talents: »

At first sight it seems like carrying coals to Newcastle…when the impressive logic of senior…officials is applied to a process largely governed by the electronic logic of computers (London Times).

 b) to bring something to a place where it is unneeded (such as coal to Newcastle, England, where it is plentiful): »

It sounds like carrying coals to Newcastle, but Lord & Taylor's cosmetics department is importing water (New York Times).

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carry coals to Newcastle — see ↑coal
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Main Entry: ↑carry

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carry, take, etc. coals to ˈNewcastle idiom
(BrE) to take goods to a place where there are already plenty of them; to supply sth where it is not needed Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the north of England, was once an important coal-mining centre.
Main entry: ↑coalidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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 — {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

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