Selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle is an idiom of English origin describing a pointless action. It refers to the fact that, historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was a great center of coal shipments from nearby mines, and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be foolhardy as supply would be greater there than anywhere else in Britain.
Selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle is an idiom of English origin describing a pointless action. It refers to the fact that, historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was a great center of coal shipments from nearby mines, and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be foolhardy as supply would be greater there than anywhere else in Britain.
Source: Wikipedia "Coals to Newcastle" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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