carry coals to Newcastle

English

Alternative forms

• bring coals to Newcastle, take coals to Newcastle

Etymology

Newcastle upon Tyne (in England) was a major coal-exporting city, so sending coal there would be pointless.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

carry coals to Newcastle (third-person singular simple present carries coals to Newcastle, present participle carrying coals to Newcastle, simple past and past participle carried coals to Newcastle)

1. (idiomatic) To do something that is unneeded or redundant.

   Synonym: bring owls to Athens

   • 1851, Herman Melville, chapter 81, in Moby-Dick‎^[1]:

     However curious it may seem for an oil-ship to be borrowing oil on the whale-ground, and however much it may invertedly contradict the old proverb about carrying coals to Newcastle, yet sometimes such a thing really happens; and in the present case Captain Derick De Deer did indubitably conduct a lamp-feeder as Flask did declare.

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter II, in Jeeves in the Offing:

     He's the fellow who likes to let off stink bombs in night clubs, which rather falls under the head of carrying coals to Newcastle […]

Coordinate terms

• sell ice to Eskimos
• bring sand to the beach

Translations

do something unneeded or redundant

• Arabic: اِسْتَبْضِعَ التَّمْرَ إِلَى هَجَر (istabḍiʕa t-tamra ʔilā hajar, literally “carry dates to Hajar”)
• Catalan: portar aigua al mar (literally “carry water to the sea”)
• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 夯枷 (zh-min-nan) (giâ-kê, literally “carry the shackle”), 無枷夯交椅／无枷夯交椅 (bô kê giâ kau-í, literally “carry the armchair if there's no shackle”)

  Mandarin: 多此一舉／多此一举 (zh) (duōcǐyījǔ), 脫褲子放屁／脱裤子放屁 (zh) (tuō khùzi fàngpì)

• Czech: nosit dříví do lesa (cs) (literally “carry wood into the forest”), nosit sovy do Atén (literally “carry owls to Athens”)
• Danish: give bagerbørn hvedebrød (literally “give wheat bread to bakers' children”)
• Dutch: uilen naar Athene dragen (literally “carry owls to Athens”), water naar de zee dragen (literally “carry water to the sea”)
• Esperanto: porti akvon al rivero (literally “carry water to the river”), porti strigojn al Ateno (literally “carry owls to Athens”)
• Estonian: kilplasetööd tegema (literally “do the [?] work”)
• Finnish: kantaa vettä kaivoon (literally “carry water to the well”)
• French: porter de l’eau à la rivière (fr) (literally “carry water to the river”)
• Georgian: ზღვას ქვიშას უმატებენო (zɣvas kvišas umaṭebeno, literally “bring sand to the beach”), ტყესი შეშის შეტანა (ṭq̇esi šešis šeṭana, literally “carry firewood into the forest”)
• German: Eulen nach Athen tragen (de) (literally “carry owls to Athens”); Holz in den Wald tragen (de) (literally “carry wood to the forest”); Wasser ins Meer tragen (de) (literally “carry water to the sea”)
• Greek: κομίζω γλαύκα εις Αθήνας (el) (komízo gláfka eis Athínas, literally “carry owls to Athens”)

  Ancient: γλαῦκ' εἰς Ἀθήνας (glaûk' eis Athḗnas), γλαῦκ' Ἀθήναζε (glaûk' Athḗnaze, literally “owls to Athens”)

• Hindi: उल्टे बाँस बरेली को लेना (ulṭe bā̃s barelī ko lenā, literally “take bamboo to Bareilly”)
• Hungarian: vizet hord a Dunába (hu) (literally “carry water into the Danube”)
• Icelandic: bera í bakkafullan lækinn (literally “carry water to an overflowing stream”)
• Irish: ag tabhairt liúdar go Toraigh (literally “taking coalfish to Tory Island”), ag cuimilt saille de thóin na muice méithe
• Italian: portare nottole ad Atene (literally “carry noctules to Athens”), portare civette ad Atene (literally “carry owls to Athens”), portare vasi a Samo (literally “carry jars to Samos”)
• Japanese: 無駄骨を折る (むだぼねをおる, mudabone wo oru)
• Latin: in silvam ligna ferō (literally “carry wood into the forest”)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gi bakerens barn brød (literally “give bread to the baker's children”), gå over bekken etter vann (no) (literally “cross the river in search of water”)

  Nynorsk: gje brød til bakaren sine born (literally “give bread to the baker's children”)

• Persian: زیره به کرمان بردن (zire be kermân bordan, literally “bring caraway to Kerman”)
• Polish: wozić drewno do lasu (pl) (literally “carry wood into the forest”)
• Portuguese: levar água ao mar (literally “carry water to the sea”), chover no molhado (pt) (literally “rain in the wet”)
• Russian: е́здить в Ту́лу со свои́м самова́ром (ru) (jézditʹ v Túlu so svoím samovárom, literally “go to Tula with your own samovar”), в лес дрова́ вози́ть (ru) (v les drová vozítʹ, literally “carry wood into the forest”)
• Scottish Gaelic: thoir fiodhrach do Loch Abar (literally “take timber to Lochaber”), thoir eich a dh'Innse Gall (literally “take horses to the Hebrides”)
• Slovak: voziť drevo do hory (literally “carry wood into the forest”), nosiť sovy do Atén (literally “carry owls to Athens”)
• Slovene: zlivati vodo v morje
• Spanish: llevar leña al monte (literally “carry wood upon the mountain”), llevar hierro a Vizcaya, llevar hierro a Vizcaya
• Swedish: bära ugglor till Aten (literally “carry owls to Athens”)
• Thai: เอามะพร้าวห้าวไปขายสวน (th) (ao má-práao-hâao bpai kǎai sǔuan, literally “sell ripe coconuts to an orchard”), เอาแป้งนวลไปขายชาววัง (ao bpɛ̂ɛng-nuual bpai kǎai chaao-wang, literally “sell face powders to palace ladies”)
• Turkish: denize su götürmek (literally “carry water to the sea”)
• Welsh: cario glo i Fflint (literally “carry coal to Flint”)
• Yiddish: פֿירן שטרוי קיין מצרים (firn shtroy keyn mitsraym, literally “carry straw to Egypt”)

See also

• busman's holiday