To Carry Coals to Newcastle (Origin)

by Craig Shrives

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.

Table of Contents

  • English Proverbs and Idioms Test
  • More Proverbs, Sayings, and Idioms
carry coals to Newcastle (Origin)

Examples of Use:

  • Bringing sand to the beach would be like carrying coals to Newcastle; it's unnecessary and redundant.
  • Trying to sell umbrellas in Japan is like carrying coals to Newcastle; there's already an abundance of them.
  • Teaching his team basic coding is like carrying coals to Newcastle; they are already programming experts.
  • Transporting coal to a mining town would be like carrying coals to Newcastle; they already have an abundance of it.

Previous and Next Sayings

English Proverbs and Idioms Test

More Proverbs, Sayings, and Idioms

Help Us Improve Grammar Monster

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?

Find Us Quicker!

  • When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.