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I found an interesting article that I wanted to email to my boss, but they may or may not already be of aware of such information. It got me thinking if there are any idioms that mean discovering something that is old news or is already known by many?

Anyone know? Thanks!

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    rediscover, yesterday's news, old hat
    – Drew
    Mar 6, 2017 at 20:26

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Three idiomatic expressions may be relevant to your situation.

First late to the party is sometimes used figuratively to suggest that the person offering the information has come with it behind times—too late for the information to be news to the person or persons addressed.

Second, stop the presses originated as a cry used in the newspaper trade on the rare occasions when an edition of the paper is on the press and being printed but important new information has just come in that renders the current story on the subject obsolete. The expression is sometimes used sarcastically to suggest the very opposite situation—namely, that everyone already knows the volunteered information or that it is too trivial to affect the existing view of the situation.

Third, old hat means, according to Idiom Corner, "not new or different, old-fashioned." It, too, can be used in the figurative sense of "behind the times and therefore not news."

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  • Oooh, these help, Sven! "Late to the party" is a bit of an obvious one (I always seem to forget idioms I already know when I need them), but "old hat" might be best considering I'm referring to a single thing (viz. an article) to compare to an old hat itself. All of you have been a great help! Mar 6, 2017 at 20:55
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You probably mean reinvent the wheel:

to discover how to do something that has already been discovered.

  • We've had a lot of experience with disasters, and don't have to reinvent the wheel every time something happens.

(The Free Dictionary)

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  • I agree this is the most common idiom, but Jake's situation sounds more like re-locating the blueprint for the wheel. Not sure there is an expression for that.
    – cobaltduck
    Mar 6, 2017 at 19:52
  • Thanks, cobaltduck. Yes, you're exactly right in saying that. I can see how my lack of clarity might suggest the "reinventing of the wheel," but I meant it less in me doing any kind of "reinventing" and just passing along potentially old info. Funny enough is that I started unconsciously making my own metaphor about "unearthing buried remains," which made me stop to think if there was a real expression or not, haha. Mar 6, 2017 at 20:29

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