bring owls to athens

Englisch - Englisch

Definition von bring owls to athens im Englisch Englisch wörterbuch

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

Silbentrennung

bring owls to Ath·ens

Türkische aussprache

brîng aulz tı äthınz

Synonyme

coals to newcastle

Aussprache

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

Etymologie

() 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.