sell coals to Newcastle

A form of carry coals to Newcastle — To do something that is unneeded or redundant.

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Meanings

verbsell coals to Newcastle (third-person singular simple present sells coals to Newcastle, present participle selling coals to Newcastle, simple past and past participle sold coals to Newcastle)

present singular third person sells coals to Newcastle · participle present selling coals to Newcastle · participle past sold coals to Newcastle · past sold coals to Newcastle

  1. alternativeAlternative form of carry coals to Newcastle.

    I can sell coals to Newcastle, and ships to the Swiss. But there are two things I would never dare to tackle[…]

    1906, Barry Pain, Robinson Crusoe's Return, Hodder and Stoughton, page 61
Cite this entry
APA

sell coals to Newcastle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sell%20coals%20to%20Newcastle

MLA

“sell coals to Newcastle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sell%20coals%20to%20Newcastle. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sell coals to Newcastle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sell%20coals%20to%20Newcastle.

Source: sell coals to Newcastle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.