preaching to the choir
9
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
hablar a los convencidos
- It's not productive to keep preaching to the choir; we need to reach out to those who disagree with us.
- just preaching to the choir
- here preaching to the choir
You know, I mean, you're preaching to the choir on this one.
- You know, I mean, you're preaching to the choir on this one.
- But you kind of have to because it's like you got to get your people and you got to like kind of preach to the choir in that sense.
- And so I think it already, I think it already preaching to the choir here.
Examples
-
Too often, these events are preaching to the choir and talking about how integration is needed.
Academic text (2014) -
Hey, you're preaching to the choir here.
-
- You are preaching to the choir.
-
On the main point, the man was preaching to the choir as far as I was concerned.
Blog text (19) -
Besides, you are only preaching to the choir at this point in time.
Blog text (21) -
You may be preaching to the choir here on our site.
Blog text (1) -
You know, I mean, you're preaching to the choir on this one.
-
Dr. Hanson, you are preaching to the choir, but keep it up!
Blog text (1) -
I don't disagree with you, but you're preaching to the choir to a certain extent.
Blog text (16) -
When discussing the benefits of renewable energy, she realized she was just preaching to the choir since everyone in the room was already a supporter.
Synonyms
1
4.6
To agree with others, often in public
How Receptive
- Informal
9
6.5
- Informal
1
5.5
9
3.5
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The idiom builds on the literal meanings of 'preach' (to argue persuasively) and 'choir' (a group that typically already shares the beliefs being preached), so a learner can partially infer that it means addressing people who already agree. However, understanding the pragmatic nuance that this is pointless or redundant requires cultural/pragmatic knowledge and is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Preaching to the choir comes from church life: imagine a preacher preaching to the choir, a group of people who already believe the message. So, it now means 'saying something to people who already agree with you'.