bring owls to Athens

Meaning: (idiomatic)To undertake apointlessventure, one that isredundant,unnecessary,superfluous, or highlyuneconomical.Synonym:carry coals to Newcastle414BCE,Aristophanes,Ian C. Johnston(translator into English),The Birds‎[1]:Euelpides:Whobrings owls to Athens?1832March 17,Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Louis H. Gray (translator into English),Letter toWilhelm von Humboldt‎[2]:Forgive me, then, forbringing owls to Athensas a thanks-offering.1996June 27,Herbert Burkert, “Access To Public Information: A Key To Commercial Growth And Electronic Democracy”, inparliamentary debates‎[3],Stockholm:Perhaps we have not been sufficiently aware that talking about access and its implications in Scandinavia is likebringing owls to Athens.

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