To Carry Coals to Newcastle (Origin)

What Is the Origin of the Saying "To Carry Coals to Newcastle"?

To carry coals to Newcastle means to do something pointless and superfluous.

Newcastle upon Tyne (England) was a well-known coal-mining area and the United Kingdom's first coal exporting port. With so much coal already in Newcastle, taking more there was pointless.



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See Also

A list of common grammar errors A list of easily confused words A list of sayings and proverbs