English · Idiom Attested

carry coals to Newcastle

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Also seen as: bring coals to Newcastle

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To do something pointlessly redundant — supplying something where it is already abundant.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Làm việc gì đó thừa thãi

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: To haul coal to Newcastle, a historic coal-mining city.

How to use it

✓ Use it when

Mocking a redundant effort.

✗ Avoid it when

Audiences unfamiliar with British geography may miss the reference.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English More common British & Irish English • understood in most varieties

Examples

Selling street food to that neighborhood of chefs is carrying coals to Newcastle.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Equivalents & related

Direct equivalent chở củi về rừng To do something pointlessly redundant — bringing something to a place that already has plenty of it. Tiếng Việt

Common questions

What does “carry coals to Newcastle” mean?

To do something pointlessly redundant — supplying something where it is already abundant. Literally: To haul coal to Newcastle, a historic coal-mining city.

Is “carry coals to Newcastle” formal or informal?

carry coals to Newcastle is generally neutral; connotation: wry.

What is the closest equivalent?

“chở củi về rừng” (Tiếng Việt) — direct equivalent.