The phrase preaching to the choir is an idiom. We will examine the meaning of the idiomatic phrase preaching to the choir, where it came from, and some examples of its use in sentences.
Preaching to the choir means that you are presenting your opinion or argument to a person or group of people who already agree with your opinion or argument. Preaching to the choir is a useless endeavor. The idiom preaching to the choir first appeared in the 1970s in the United States and is a variant of an older idiom, preaching to the converted, that originated in British English in the 1850s. Both idioms are expressions that address wasting one’s time arguing with people who agree with you. Related phrases are preach to the choir, preaches to the choir, preached to the choir.
Examples
“I could just as easily go to all the wildlife centers and nature centers and conservancies along the way, but a lot of it would be preaching to the choir.” (The Coastal Review)
“Talk to your friends and neighbors about these issues … what a lot of us are doing sometimes is preaching to the choir, and the choir’s already in the pew,” Koski said. (The Kenai Peninsula Clarion)
While I realize that for the most part I am preaching to the choir, hopefully some of you will take to heart this information and consider buying a real tree this year. (North County Outlook)
“I am skeptical about preaching to the choir, which is what often happens at formal conferences. ” (The Jerusalem Post)