coal

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.

See also: carry, take

drag/haul someone over the coals

to speak angrily to someone because they have done something wrong. If I make a spelling mistake, I get hauled over the coals by my boss. They dragged her over the coals for being late with her assignment. (often + for)

See also: drag, haul, over

rake over the coals

to talk about unpleasant things from the past that other people would prefer not to talk about. There's no point in raking over the coals - all that happened twenty years ago, and there's nothing we can do about it now. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: over, rake