"Preaching to the choir"

Posted by Joanne on January 29, 2001

In Reply to: "Preaching to the choir" posted by R. Berg on January 29, 2001

: : Can anyone tell me the origin of this phrase? Alt spelling for "quire" is "choir"
: : Thanks,
: : Joanne

: The phrase makes sense with "choir" but not with "quire," because it refers to a church choir, whose members are already believers. I don't know where or when it originated. "You're preaching to the choir" means "You're wasting your time trying to convince people who already agree with you instead of going out and talking to the people who need to be convinced."

I'm hoping that someone can identify the author of this one. Have found suggestions that it might be Frederick the Great or his biographer Carlyle but haven't been able to pin this down. Help appreciated.
Thanks,
Joanne

• "Preaching to the choir" ESC 01/29/01
  • Robert Burns MIghty Quinn 02/04/01
  • "Preaching to the choir" R. Berg 01/30/01

See meaning and origin of Preaching to the choir.