Taking Coals To Newcastle
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64346)
United Kingdom
February 12, 2017 4:36pm CST
The other day I was answering a response left on my post and said " Giving me flowers in the summer would be like taking coals to Newcastle".
Then I had to wonder whether that was purely an English expression, and didn't know if the Indian lady I was talking to (@responsiveme) would understand what I meant. Fortunately she did, but it made me wonder whether my other non-English friends on this site would.
Newcastle in England was renowned for producing coal in days gone by, so there would be no point in taking any there as they already had so much of it. Hence the saying 'taking coals to Newcastle'. Thus, as I have plenty of flowers in my garden in the summer, there would not be a lot of point in bringing me any.
Another expression I used to someone else here was "It's just not cricket", and that caused a bit of confusion. That term means that it's an ungentlemanly or improper thing to do or way to behave. I wonder if that term is recognised in countries where they don't play cricket?
Have you flummoxed anyone by using an expression that may be unfamiliar to them?
41 people like this
42 responses
@JudyEv (382104)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 17
I have flummoxed a few readers and now every time I go to use an idiomatic expression I think about it first. It has been really surprising how many I use. I knew both these and another I used the other day was 'barking up the wrong tree'.
6 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
13 Feb 17
@JudyEv Yes, that's it, but I actually meant the 'ps and qs'. That means that you have to be so careful with details, and originated from typesetting where you have to put the letters in backwards. p and q are mirror images of each other and it was easy to get them mixed up.
2 people like this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
13 Feb 17
Every saying or adage has a history behind it. With constant usage any expression can be placed correctly. I had a friend who would say she was going to spend a penny whenever she wanted to go to the toilet. Surely there is history there.
4 people like this
@allknowing (153530)
• India
13 Feb 17
@jaboUK Funny that I hear an Indian too saying it
2 people like this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Feb 17
a couple of times... but like you say ... it can make for a good discusion... and I like to find out the origin of some of the sayings... because although I use them... and know what they mean... I don't know how or where they originated... 
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 17
@sueznewz2 Yes the origins can sometimes get lost in time, don't they?
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 17
@sueznewz2 Just replied to it. I've only just come onto the site.
1 person likes this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
13 Feb 17
I have. Never with the intent of being obscure or rude.
I believe it was you some time ago I called a scofflaw (not seriously, of course) not realizing it was an American expression. I found to my surprise that it dated no further back than the 1920s.
Hauling coal to Newcastle is an expression I've heard, though not an activity I've had a chance to try.
2 people like this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
13 Feb 17
@jaboUK The old house we had in upstate New York had a coal-burning fireplace in the living room so I suppose it could be said I have hauled coal—as least up from the cellar. And wiped coal dust off everything. Man, that stuff got everywhere.
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
12 Feb 17
I have a few times but more often than not I have to ask for clarification on US terms
3 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
12 Feb 17
@Mike197602 Yes, some expressions can be a bit mystifying can't they?
1 person likes this
@Mike197602 (15504)
• United Kingdom
12 Feb 17
@jaboUK They certainly can be
Even after years on here I remember having to ask what a hiney was
Now I know it is somewhat similar to a patooty...or in english a bottom
Even after years on here I remember having to ask what a hiney was
Now I know it is somewhat similar to a patooty...or in english a bottom2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
12 Feb 17
@Gillygirl @Mike197602 I don't think anyone minds us asking for clarification.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
14 Feb 17
The expression 'Tongue tied' and whats the meaning came up in a conversation. Usually people ask me because I am the original bookworm 
.
There are many idioms in the many (! ) Indian languages also.
In fact in school for the grammar and composition paper we had to give the meanings.
Thanks for mentioning me. Makes me feel a part of the Mylot family....first time some one has in a discussion
.
There are many idioms in the many (! ) Indian languages also.
In fact in school for the grammar and composition paper we had to give the meanings.
Thanks for mentioning me. Makes me feel a part of the Mylot family....first time some one has in a discussion3 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 17
@responsiveme I mentioned you because it was you that gave me the idea for the post. Yes, tongue tied is another good idiom, though physically impossible
. Yes, tongue tied is another good idiom, though physically impossible 2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17240)
• China
13 Feb 17
I am glad I learn two more idioms again.I look "not cricket "up in my English-Chinese dictionary,it just says "no fair play",now I know more about it .Thank you !
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17240)
• China
14 Feb 17
@jaboUK I have learnt a lot from your posts,even I have taken down many of them and review them now and then.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
13 Feb 17
@changjiangzhibin89 I'm glad to help you to understand more about this English language of ours Chang.
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (24026)
• United Kingdom
16 Feb 17
Of course I understand your expressions. I like Malu's little translations which are quite amusing.
The funniest one I heard was an old friend quipped about someone who was bow legged. It made me literally cry.
" Oh look, He could not stop a pig in a passage"
I had never heard it before and was absolutely beside myself laughing a because you would not expect it from a supposedly cultured lady and because it was so random and out off character!
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 17
@garymarsh6 Lol - I'm familiar with the pig one - it's very descriptive
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (24026)
• United Kingdom
18 Feb 17
@jaboUK She told me it was an old saying but I had never heard it before which made it so funny!
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
14 Feb 17
Haven't heard either of those terms before, but I understand what you meant by them Though cricket here is now anything but gentlemanly. The one gentleman player here, Rahul Dravid of The Indian Cricket Team, retired years ago. Nowadays cricket here is mostly showbizz and rarely that feeling of winter-spring afternoon leisurely cricket spectacle exists! 
but that's completely beside your point. Sorry! I really love idioms!
Though cricket here is now anything but gentlemanly. The one gentleman player here, Rahul Dravid of The Indian Cricket Team, retired years ago. Nowadays cricket here is mostly showbizz and rarely that feeling of winter-spring afternoon leisurely cricket spectacle exists! but that's completely beside your point. Sorry! I really love idioms!2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 17
@ria1606roy Yes, cricket is not so gentlemanly as it was, but it's not half so rowdy as football.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
14 Feb 17
@jaboUK haha! True. Football and Rugby are the best games to be rowdy!
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
13 Feb 17
cricket i learned was a game played by the Indians and Pakistanis. i have not hard of that expression though
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
13 Feb 17
@ridingbet Oh yes, Indians and Pakistanis are very good at cricket. Is it not played in the Philippines?
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
14 Feb 17
@ridingbet I'm the same - my husband watches Rugby a lot, and I haven't managed to work out the rules for that.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
14 Feb 17
@jaboUK no, just baseball and soft ball. when i watch cricket games on TV, i still cannot fathom how the score is done or given to a team.
1 person likes this
@suziecat7 (3349)
• Asheville, North Carolina
16 Feb 17
I always like learning new expressions especially British ones because they are always so creative. That way I can perplex my friends when I choose to :))
2 people like this
@Juliaacv (56257)
• Canada
12 Feb 17
I wrote something once that was only known in North America and I got blasted from someone from the UK, telling me that I shouldn't write things like that since this site is international.
I never wrote about that again.....
But I think that I've had to search some of the sayings that I've read, and I've asked also.
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
17 Feb 17
I bet we all have at one time or other
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 17
@Tampa_girl7 Yes, it's bound to happen, especially on sites like this.
@Marilynda1225 (91096)
• United States
15 Feb 17
I'm sure I've used some expressions that made readers shake their head but I have heard of that saying "taking coals to Newcastle" before. My grandfather was English so maybe he used it frequently
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
17 Feb 17
@Marilynda1225 Yes, with English ancestors it's likely that you heard lot's of expressions that would confuse other Americans.
@DianneN (254926)
• United States
13 Feb 17
Someone from England replied to a post, "G-d bless his socks." I questioned that and received an explanation. I knew your first idiom, and guessed the second, thanks to my education and readings. I try not to use idioms, but they do slip out. Fortunately, most of our readers are sharp enough to understand. I haven't been questioned, yet!
2 people like this
@VivaLaDani13 (60812)
• Perth, Australia
4 Apr 17
@jaboUK I hear a lot of things I've never understood before lol I often feel stupid asking. But if I don't know, I don't know. I think DJ has wondered one or two things I've said that were too Aussie or British. My Texan friend didn't know what a "fortnight" was when I first said it lol
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64346)
• United Kingdom
6 Apr 17
@VivaLaDani13 Things we never think twice about can seem strange to other ears, and 'fortnight' is an excellent example.
1 person likes this
