bring owls to athens

الإنجليزية - الإنجليزية

تعريف bring owls to athens في الإنجليزية الإنجليزية القاموس.

To undertake a pointless venture, one that is redundant, unnecessary, superfluous, or highly uneconomical

الواصلة

bring owls to Ath·ens

التركية النطق

brîng aulz tı äthınz

المترادفات

coals to newcastle

النطق

/ˈbrəɴɢ ˈoulz tə ˈaᴛʜənz/ /ˈbrɪŋ ˈaʊlz tə ˈæθənz/

علم أصول الكلمات

() A calque of the Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ’ εἰς Ἀθήνας (glauk’ eis Athēnās). The owl, which roosted in the rafters of the old Parthenon (the one burnt by Xerxes I), was the symbol of the city of Athens, and was sacred to its patron goddess, Athena. It was featured on Athens’ silver coins, and as Athens both mined its own silver and minted its own coins, bringing owls (either the real birds, or the coins) to Athens would be pointless.