preach to the choir
to try and convince someone of something they already believe in
TRANSLATION
to preach to the choir = bei jemandem offene Türen einrennen (DH) --- GOOGLE INDEX to preach to the choir: approximately 500,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"I am not saying we need to forget our ideological standpoints, but a great deal can be gained by debating with those who don’t share our philosophy, rather than just PREACHING TO THE CHOIR."
(The Manitoban, the official newspaper of the University of Manitoba)
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"It's no use always PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, you've got to get out and play for people who might not naturally listen to girls with acoustic guitars…."
- Martha Wainwright, singer-songwriter
(The Manitoban, the official newspaper of the University of Manitoba)
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"It's no use always PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, you've got to get out and play for people who might not naturally listen to girls with acoustic guitars…."
- Martha Wainwright, singer-songwriter
Did you
know?
to preach to the choir (also, to preach to the converted)
- to talk about something with a group of people who already agree with you
- to try to persuade people to believe things they already believe
(Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms)
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WORD ORIGIN
Preachers obviously don't need to convince the church choir about salvation. Thus preaching to the choir describes an attempt to persuade someone about something they already believe in.
Preaching to the choir happens more often than one might think. At political rallies for instance, the audience nearly always consists of members of the same political party. The idea is not to gather together to discuss opposing views, but to be reassured about one's own political philosophies. It provides a confirmation of sorts. Those who stand at the podium to speak are well aware of this, often giving speeches under the motto "tell them what they want to hear."
Other examples of preaching to the choir might be:
- telling a group of teenagers about the advantages of having a mobile phone
- speaking to a group of computer science graduates about the importance of the Internet
- advising a British acquaintance to spend some time at the pub in order to relieve work stress ☺
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I know this is preaching to the choir, but we should constantly remind ourselves about confidentiality when speaking to clients."
- to talk about something with a group of people who already agree with you
- to try to persuade people to believe things they already believe
(Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Preachers obviously don't need to convince the church choir about salvation. Thus preaching to the choir describes an attempt to persuade someone about something they already believe in.
Preaching to the choir happens more often than one might think. At political rallies for instance, the audience nearly always consists of members of the same political party. The idea is not to gather together to discuss opposing views, but to be reassured about one's own political philosophies. It provides a confirmation of sorts. Those who stand at the podium to speak are well aware of this, often giving speeches under the motto "tell them what they want to hear."
Other examples of preaching to the choir might be:
- telling a group of teenagers about the advantages of having a mobile phone
- speaking to a group of computer science graduates about the importance of the Internet
- advising a British acquaintance to spend some time at the pub in order to relieve work stress ☺
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"I know this is preaching to the choir, but we should constantly remind ourselves about confidentiality when speaking to clients."
