I was talking with a friend who mentioned “taking tea to India”. It made me wonder what the equivalents are around the world. “Taking coals to Newcastle” is the UK’s.
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Ice to Eskimos in the eastern us. Yes, I know Eskimo isn’t preferred but that didn’t stop Nana.
Same, or “he could sell igloos to eskimos” to describe an especially skilled salesman.
I’ve heard “It’s like selling ice to Eskimos” used in the context of the OP
Yeah, I’ve only ever heard it in the “he could sell…” formulation.
Guess we’re getting pretty far from the “things to place” idea, but there’s always “preaching to the choir”
Carrying water to the sea is the Dutch version.
Of course the Dutch version is about water
What does the phrase mean?
It means to pointlessly take something to a place that already has it in abundance.
Taking guns to America?
Apparently “owls to Athens” is common across Europe? “Wood to the forest” is a variant in the US
It is known in Germany, “Eulen nach Athen tragen”. I’ve heard the explanation that the currency of Athens in antiquity had owl on one side.
Is “Owls to Athens” a reference to Athena?
Yes and no. It’s a circular relationship. The proverb is known to have already existed in Ancient Greece. The pantheon (the version that existed before Xerxes torched the place) was apparently inhabited by tons of owls, especially it’s roof construction. Since the pantheon was a temple to Athena, people assumed Athena held Owls holy and the owl became linked to Athena, and since Athena was the goddess of wisdom, Owls became a symbol of wisdom. Since the city and her patron goddess are related by name, Athens is linked to owls as well.
But for the meaning: It’s to be taken literally. There were many owls in Athens, so they’d not exactly need any more.
Originally it must be, but the animal itself became associated with the city too (for example their coinage almost always had an owl on it)
I don’t know. My coworker just said that owls are a symbol of wisdom, and Athens (historically) is the center of wisdom.
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Coals to Newcastle works well in Australia too. (I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard that in practice though.)
Same, never heard it used here, and I can’t think of any other Australian equivalents.
Bauxite is the obvious one. Bringing bauxite to Australia. How could you forget about bauxite?
Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney). Not sure if it has/had coal mines, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Australians using the phrase may be referring to their Newcastle, and even unaware of the English one.
Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney)
Yes, that’s why I mentioned it. When I said “works well in Australia”, what I meant was “in theory, the same logic you used to apply it to Newcastle-upon-Tyne could be used to apply it to Newcastle, NSW”, and not that it actually is used in Australia (I know I’ve never heard it).
Not sure if it has/had coal mines
Not just does it, but it is in fact home to Australia’s largest coal-shipping port. In fact, Port of Newcastle is, according to Wikipedia, the world’s largest coal terminal.
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I feel like the closest in the deep south is just “preaching to the choir”. A redundant task which ignores a probably better path or explaining something to someone who doesn’t need it explained to them.
Germany:
- carry owls to Athens
Regional:
- bring beer to Munich
- carry peat to the bog
- carry water to the Rhine
- drive snails to Metz
“Selling sand in sahara.”
We also use “taking coals to Newcastle” here in the Midwestern U.S. (Something about being descended from former British colonies…) But I’ve heard plenty of riffs on that idea, like, “bringing corn to Iowa.”
Taking weed to BC (Canada)
In Spanish we have “llevar leña a la montaña” (take firewood to the mountain) as well as “llevar hierro a Vizcaya” which is take iron to Vizcaya, a city in Spain
Bring weed to Oregon.
Taking sand to the beach.
In Poland it is „nosić drewno do lasu” (bring wood to the forest). Similar, but a bit different (pointless not just by being pointless, but by being impossible): „nie zawrócisz kijem Wisły” – ‘you won’t turn Vistula (our biggest river) with a stick’.
Same in Czech. Nosit dříví do lesa.
For the second one we have “z hovna bič neupleteš” = you can’t weave a whip out of a shit.
We have the same about a shit whip – „z gówna bata nie ukręcisz”
