Coals to Newcastle

Posted by ESC on May 17, 2002

In Reply to: Idioms posted by ESC on May 17, 2002

: : How to form a sentence with the idiom " carry coals to Newcastle " ? ( "Carry coals to Newcastle " = to supply something which is unnecessary )

: "Taking food to my grandmother's house would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. She always has a big meal ready when her family visits."

TO CARRY COALS TO NEWCASTLE - "The current American equivalent is 'to sell refrigerators to the Eskimos.' The idea is of doing something that is the height of superfluity. In explanation, Newcastle - or Newcastle upon Tyne, to use the official name of the ancient English city - lies in the center of the great coal-mining region of England.The saying was recorded by Heywood in 1602; as he labeled it common even then, it may well go back a century or two earlier. Similar sayings occur in all languages." From 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions from White Elephants to Song and Dance by Charles Earle Funk (Galahad Book, New York, 1993).

• Coals to Newcastle TheFallen 05/17/02
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