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Meaning of "coals to Newcastle" in the English dictionary

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PRONUNCIATION OF COALS TO NEWCASTLE

coals to Newcastle play
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WHAT DOES COALS TO NEWCASTLE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Coals to Newcastle

Selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal to Newcastle is an idiom of British origin describing a foolhardy or pointless action. It refers to the fact that historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was heavily dependent on the distribution and sale of coal—by the time of the first known recording of the phrase in 1538, 15,000 tonnes of coal were being exported annually from the area—and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be doomed to failure because of the economic principle of supply and demand. The phrase "To carry Coals to Newcastle" is first documented in North America in 1679 in William Fitzhugh's letters and first appears in a printed title in Labour in vain: or Coals to Newcastle: A sermon to the people of Queen-Hith, 1709. Timothy Dexter, an American entrepreneur, succeeded in defying the idiom in the eighteenth century. Renowned for his eccentricity and widely regarded as a buffoon, he was persuaded to sail a shipment of coal to Newcastle by rival merchants plotting to ruin him.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE COALS TO NEWCASTLE

coalfield
coalfish
coalhouse
coalification
coalify
coaling station
coalise
coalition
coalition government
coalitional
coalitioner
coalitionism
coalitionist
coalless
coalman
coalmaster
Coalport
coalsack
coalshed
coaly

WORDS THAT END LIKE COALS TO NEWCASTLE

bastle
Belvoir Castle
Berkeley Castle
bouncy castle
Carisbrooke Castle
castle
Culzean Castle
Eilean Donan Castle
forecastle
Glamis Castle
Hever Castle
hustle
king of the castle
Leeds Castle
Newcastle
Oldcastle
sand castle
Sissinghurst Castle
Tintagel Castle
Urquhart Castle
Windsor Castle

Synonyms and antonyms of coals to Newcastle in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «coals to Newcastle» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF COALS TO NEWCASTLE

Find out the translation of coals to Newcastle to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of coals to Newcastle from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «coals to Newcastle» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

多此一举
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

carbones a Newcastle
570 millions of speakers

English

coals to Newcastle
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

न्यूकैसल के लिए अंगारों
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الفحم إلى نيوكاسل
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

угли в Ньюкасл
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

carvões para Newcastle
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

নিউক্যাসেল থেকে কয়লা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

charbon à Newcastle
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Arang batu ke Newcastle
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Eulen nach Athen
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ニューカッスルに石炭
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

뉴캐슬 석탄
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Arang kanggo Newcastle
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

than đến Newcastle
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

நியூகேஸிலுக்கு எரிச்சல்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

न्यू कॅसलला कोळसा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Newcastle´a kömür getiriyor
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

carbone a Newcastle
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

węgle do Newcastle
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

вугілля в Ньюкасл
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

cărbuni la Newcastle
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

κάρβουνα στο Νιούκαστλ
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

kole te Newcastle
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

kol till Newcastle
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

kull til Newcastle
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of coals to Newcastle

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «COALS TO NEWCASTLE»

The term «coals to Newcastle» is quite widely used and occupies the 42.053 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
81
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «coals to Newcastle» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of coals to Newcastle
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «coals to Newcastle».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «COALS TO NEWCASTLE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «coals to Newcastle» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «coals to Newcastle» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about coals to Newcastle

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «COALS TO NEWCASTLE»

Discover the use of coals to Newcastle in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to coals to Newcastle and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Whiting C335. C225 To carry Coals to Newcastle 1679 Fitzhugh Letters 67: But relating farther to you would be carrying Coals to new Castle. 1768 Habersham Letters 68: [He] asked, if I wanted to carry Coals to New Castle. 1776 JAdams in ...
Bartlett Jere Whiting, 1977
2
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions
coals of fire 120 coals of fire See HEAP COALS OF FIRE. coals to Newcastle Something that is redundant; something taken or offered where it is already plentiful. The expression refers to the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Great Britain, in a ...
Elizabeth Webber, Mike Feinsilber, 1999
3
Dictionary of Word Origins: A History of the Words, ...
CARAT CARPETBAGGER CARRY COALS TO NEWCASTLE CARTE BLANCHE Carat. What is the origin of the word "carat"? The "carat" was originally a measure of value and not weight. And a symbol used to represent a unit of money in the ...
Jordan Almond, 1995
4
Labor in Vain, Or Coals to Newcastle: In A Sermon to the ...
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series.
Anonymous, 2010
5
Labour in Vain, Or Coals to Newcastle: In a Sermon to the ...
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.
Anonymous, 2010
6
A Dictionary of Anglo-American Proverbs & Proverbial ...
1978. New York: Dell Publishing Company, 1984. To carry coals to Newcastle ( APP 74; ODEP 358; EAP 76; MP 122) 1902 Perhaps it is like "carrying coals to Newcastle" for me to record that Mr. Jefferson immediately captured his audience .
George B. Bryan, Wolfgang Mieder, 2005
7
Dictionary of Proverbs
Coals to Newcastle, To send. [In silvam non ligna feras insanius ac si Magnas Graecorum malis implere catenas. - Horace, Sat. , I x 34-5.] 1583: Melville, Autobiog., i 163 (Wodrow S.), Salt I0 Dysart, or colies to Newcastle! 1650: Fuller, Pisgah ...
George Latimer Apperson, Martin H. Manser, Stephen J. Curtis, 2005
8
Idioms: Processing, Structure, and Interpretation
Like coals to Newcastle, other phrasal idioms such as spill the beans bear a somewhat metaphorical relation to their idiomatic meanings, in this case divulge secrets. Given the diversity among the idioms people use in everyday discourse,  ...
Cristina Cacciari, Patrizia Tabossi, 2014
9
The Statutes at Large: From the Magna Charta, to the End of ...
X. Keels that carry sea-coals to Newcastle shall be measured and marked. , TTEM par la ou de chescun JL chaldre de charbons mari- tilmes qe font & serront vendus CAP. XI. No English gold shall be received in payment . . . Jhall be sold to  ...
Great Britain, Danby Pickering, 1762
10
A Dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms ...
See also: carry one's weight / carry weight. carry coals • carry coals to Newcastle carry coals—(also: bear coals) submit to humiliation or insult: Abraham observes that they will not carry coals, meaning that they would not put up with insults.
Yuri Dolgopolov, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «COALS TO NEWCASTLE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term coals to Newcastle is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Coals to Newcastle - British-built Honda Civic Type R heading for …
Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo has announced that the British-built Honda Civic Type R will be exported from the UK to go on sale in Japan by ... «Cars UK, Jul 15»
2
The question my mother made me ask André Rieu
Coals to Newcastle, I suppose. But does he ever long for a time in the past when music was pure pleasure? 'Music has always been first and ... «Spectator.co.uk, Jun 15»
3
Humans proves more artificial than intelligent
... as slightly awkward machines with oddly unsynchronised expressions and reactions, and a stilted way of talking, is rather coals to Newcastle; ... «The Sunday Times, Jun 15»
4
From Arugula to Zuchinni: J&S Produce Brings Its Bountiful Harvest …
That may be a bit like bringing coals to Newcastle, but it's a neighborly gesture that Davidson appreciates. “I really love this community,” he said ... «Over the Mountain Journal, Jun 15»
5
Hazen man ready to cultivate pollinator plots
... planting food plots of corn, soybeans, oats, millets, sorghum, Wagner said it did feel like he was carrying the proverbial coals to Newcastle. «Bismarck Tribune, May 15»
6
Yes, Amtrak was sabotaged–by Congress
Hauling coals to Newcastle for sale offers greater likelihood of profit than operating an extensive rail passenger network. No matter Amtrak's ... «Quartz, May 15»
7
Australian cider to hit the UK in time for summer
... admits that sending Aussie cider to Britain – a country which has been making cider since Roman times – may sound like coals to Newcastle, ... «FOOD Magazine - Australia, May 15»
8
Drawn into the city by the works of Ed Moses at LACMA: Larry Wilson
My favorite: “Coals to Newcastle,” in which he went down to Calexico and flew a rubber-band powered balsa airplane with a marijuana joint ... «LA Daily News, May 15»
9
Gene Weingarten has the trite stuff
“Carrying coals to Newcastle” becomes “carrying kale to Brooklyn.” “Not playing with a full deck” becomes “Intel not inside.” “That will be a ... «Washington Post, May 15»
10
12 May 1926: Britain's only general strike ends
Never mind sending coals to Newcastle. How about a warship? That was one of the ways in which Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government ... «MoneyWeek, May 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Coals to Newcastle [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/coals-to-newcastle>. Apr 2024 ».
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