bring owls to Athens

短语

多此一举

发音

US /bɹɪŋ ˈaʊlz tu ˈæ.θɪnz/
AU /bɹɪŋ ˈaʊlz tu ˈæ.θɪnz/

词形变化

bringing owls to Athens brings owls to Athens 三单 brings owls to Athens brought owls to Athens bringing owls to Athens 现在分词 brought owls to Athens 过去式 brought owls to Athens 过去分词

别名

carry owls to Athens

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

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

    习语

词源

Calque from Ancient Greek proverb γλαῦκ’ εἰς Ἀθήνας (glaûk’ eis Athḗnas). 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.

来源：wiktionary