Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

carry coals to newcastle

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.94 in modern English

Syllables: car-ry -coal-s -to new-cas-tle
IPA

33

Scrabble Score

21

Letters

7

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To do something that is unneeded or redundant.

Example Sentences

"However curious it may seem for an oil-ship to be borrowing oil on the whale-ground, and however much it may invertedly contradict the old proverb about carrying coals to Newcastle, yet sometimes such a thing really happens; and in the present case Captain Derick De Deer did indubitably conduct a lamp-feeder as Flask did declare."
"He's the fellow who likes to let off stink bombs in night clubs, which rather falls under the head of carrying coals to Newcastle […]"

Etymology

Newcastle upon Tyne (in England) was a major coal-exporting city, so sending coal there would be pointless.

Inflected Forms

carries coals to Newcastle (present, singular) carrying coals to Newcastle (participle, present) carried coals to Newcastle (participle, past) carried coals to Newcastle (past) bring coals to Newcastle (alternative) sell coal to Newcastle (alternative) sell coals to Newcastle (alternative) take coals to Newcastle (alternative)

Phrases

busman's holiday

Frequently Paired Words

busman's holiday preach to the choir

Synonyms

bring owls to Athens bring sand to the beach sell ice to Eskimos

Questions

What does carry coals to newcastle mean?: To do something that is unneeded or redundant.
Where does carry coals to newcastle come from?: Newcastle upon Tyne (in England) was a major coal-exporting city, so sending coal there would be pointless.

How to pronounce carry coals to newcastle

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “carry coals to newcastle”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “carry coals to newcastle”.
Repeat and practice — Say “carry coals to newcastle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.