Is there an American English equivalent of the British idiom "carrying coals to Newcastle"?

Solution 1:

"Bring sand to the beach." I have heard this many times, I am from NYC. I've heard it used most often to describe bringing a date to a place where there will be many women.

Solution 2:

Here are a few:

"Selling ice to an Eskimo"

"Locking the stable door after the horse has bolted." (or) "Shutting the barn door after the horse has gone."

"Preaching to the choir" (a phrase originated by George Bernard Shaw in the play The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles: A Vision of Judgment)

"Giving a drink of water to a drowning man"

Solution 3:

These aren't exactly what you're looking for, I think, but they're related.

• Re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic (a superficial, cosmetic change to something with a major underlying structural problem)
• Teaching grandmother to suck eggs (giving advice to someone who is already an expert on the subject)
• A Chinese fire drill (a large, ineffective, and chaotic activity carried out by a group of people that accomplishes nothing—but note that, as the Wikipedia article points out, this phrase is uncommon today due to the politically incorrect ethnic reference.)

Solution 4:

Wiktionary suggests

Bring owls to Athens

which has the same sense as coal to Newcastle, in that there are already lots of owls (supposedly) in Athens. But I've never heard anyone say this and wouldn't have understood it.

Solution 5:

While not the same connotation, I like "nailing Jello to a tree", which suggests a futile act.