To carry coals to Newcastle

To carry coals to Newcastle
Carry Car"ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Carried}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Carrying}.] [OF. carier, charier, F. carrier, to cart, from OF. car, char, F. car, car. See {Car}.] 1. To convey or transport in any manner from one place to another; to bear; -- often with away or off. [1913 Webster]

When he dieth he shall carry nothing away. --Ps. xiix. 17. [1913 Webster]

Devout men carried Stephen to his burial. --Acts viii, 2. [1913 Webster]

Another carried the intelligence to Russell. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

The sound will be carried, at the least, twenty miles. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

2. To have or hold as a burden, while moving from place to place; to have upon or about one's person; to bear; as, to carry a wound; to carry an unborn child. [1913 Webster]

If the ideas . . . were carried along with us in our minds. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

3. To move; to convey by force; to impel; to conduct; to lead or guide. [1913 Webster]

Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

He carried away all his cattle. --Gen. xxxi. 18. [1913 Webster]

Passion and revenge will carry them too far. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

4. To transfer from one place (as a country, book, or column) to another; as, to carry the war from Greece into Asia; to carry an account to the ledger; to carry a number in adding figures. [1913 Webster]

5. To convey by extension or continuance; to extend; as, to carry the chimney through the roof; to carry a road ten miles farther. [1913 Webster]

6. To bear or uphold successfully through conflict, as a leader or principle; hence, to succeed in, as in a contest; to bring to a successful issue; to win; as, to carry an election. ``The greater part carries it.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The carrying of our main point. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

7. To get possession of by force; to capture. [1913 Webster]

The town would have been carried in the end. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

8. To contain; to comprise; to bear the aspect of; to show or exhibit; to imply. [1913 Webster]

He thought it carried something of argument in it. --Watts. [1913 Webster]

It carries too great an imputation of ignorance. --Lacke. [1913 Webster]

9. To bear (one's self); to behave, to conduct or demean; -- with the reflexive pronouns. [1913 Webster]

He carried himself so insolently in the house, and out of the house, to all persons, that he became odious. --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]

10. To bear the charges or burden of holding or having, as stocks, merchandise, etc., from one time to another; as, a merchant is carrying a large stock; a farm carries a mortgage; a broker carries stock for a customer; to carry a life insurance. [1913 Webster]

{Carry arms} (Mil. Drill), a command of the Manual of Arms directing the soldier to hold his piece in the right hand, the barrel resting against the hollow of the shoulder in a nearly perpendicular position. In this position the soldier is said to stand, and the musket to be held, at carry.

{To carry all before one}, to overcome all obstacles; to have uninterrupted success.

{To carry arms} (a) To bear weapons. (b) To serve as a soldier.

{To carry away}. (a) (Naut.) to break off; to lose; as, to carry away a fore-topmast. (b) To take possession of the mind; to charm; to delude; as, to be carried by music, or by temptation.

{To carry coals}, to bear indignities tamely, a phrase used by early dramatists, perhaps from the mean nature of the occupation. --Halliwell.

{To carry coals to Newcastle}, to take things to a place where they already abound; to lose one's labor.

{To carry off} (a) To remove to a distance. (b) To bear away as from the power or grasp of others. (c) To remove from life; as, the plague carried off thousands.

{To carry on} (a) To carry farther; to advance, or help forward; to continue; as, to carry on a design. (b) To manage, conduct, or prosecute; as, to carry on husbandry or trade.

{To carry out}. (a) To bear from within. (b) To put into execution; to bring to a successful issue. (c) To sustain to the end; to continue to the end.

{To carry through}. (a) To convey through the midst of. (b) To support to the end; to sustain, or keep from falling, or being subdued. ``Grace will carry us . . . through all difficulties.'' --Hammond. (c) To complete; to bring to a successful issue; to succeed.

{To carry up}, to convey or extend in an upward course or direction; to build.

{To carry weight}. (a) To be handicapped; to have an extra burden, as when one rides or runs. ``He carries weight, he rides a race'' --Cowper. (b) To have influence. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • carry coals to Newcastle — To take a thing where it is already most abundant • • • Main Entry: ↑coal * * * carry/take/coals to Newcastle british phrase to supply something to a place or person when they do not need it because they have a lot of it already Thesaurus …   Useful english dictionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — {v. phr.} To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. * /The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle./ * /Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • carry coals to Newcastle — {v. phr.} To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. * /The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle./ * /Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Carry coals to Newcastle — Newcastle New cast le, prop. n. A town in England. [PJC] {Carry coals to Newcastle} to do something utterly superfluous; to do something useless or wasteful; from the nearness of Newcastle to the coal mining district. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • carry coals to Newcastle — carry/take coals to Newcastle British to take something to a place or a person that has a lot of that thing already. Exporting pine to Scandinavia is a bit like carrying coals to Newcastle …   New idioms dictionary

  • carry\ coals\ to\ Newcastle — v. phr. To do something unnecessary; bring or furnish something of which there is plenty. The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle. Joe was carrying coals to Newcastle when he told the doctor how to cure a… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • carry coals to Newcastle — Meaning To do something pointless and superfluous. Origin Newcastle in England was a well known coal mining area and the first coal exporting port. Taking coal there was an architypally pointless activity, on a par with selling snow to Eskimos …   Meaning and origin of phrases

  • carry/take coals to Newcastle — Brit : to take something to a place where it is not needed because a large amount of it is already there • • • Main Entry: ↑coal …   Useful english dictionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — verb To do something that is unneeded or redundant …   Wiktionary

  • carry coals to Newcastle — take an unnecessary item to an area where it is already plentiful (such as taking ice to Antarctica) …   English contemporary dictionary

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