In Russian we have idiom/saying "To shoot out of cannon into sparrows" (literal translation) which is used to convey an idea of applying too drastic measures to small problems. I believe there should be some native-English equivalents to this saying. Can you share if there are any?
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9This should probably be translated as "To shoot sparrows with a cannon". Sparrows are small but cannonballs are huge and simply obliterate tiny birds.– user21497Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 11:58
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6Yeah, as an American, I don't think the idiom is lost translated as "To shoot sparrows with a cannon." We have almost identical idioms that generally involves a small creature (typically an insect, but sometimes birds) with some large weapon or device, so while it may be a new version of the expression to most readers, it won't be lost on them. Personally, I would have more trouble with "to break a butterfly on the wheel" or "to crack a nut with a sledgehammer" than your version.– AJ HendersonCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:10
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2"Chop a chicken using the blade for cow" as in Chinese.– MeadowMuffinsCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:49
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1I have often heard the supposed Confucius quote Never use a cannon to kill a fly. Although the word "overkill" seems to mean that entire sentence... it won't let me post as an answer.– SledCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 16:41
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5It's the exact same idiom in German, too: "Mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schießen."– Tim PietzckerCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 18:51
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10 Answers
We speak of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
answered Jan 16, 2013 at 11:57
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8Interesting, I've never heard that one in America. The ones I've heard are always much closer to the original question. Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:12
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1I'm wondering whether there may be a small difference in meaning though: A sledgehammer is likely to crack a nut, a gun is likely to be useful at a knife fight. But cannons are unlikely to hit a sparrow. What if we want to convey that the tools applied are not only overkill but also ill-suited for the task?– us2012Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:30
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2@us2012 a cannon loaded with canister shot would have a good chance of taking out the sparrow. Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:48
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2Surcouf once loaded his guns with gold coins. That definitely works against British troops, so it probably works against sparrows.– KheldarCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 15:40
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2I haven't heard this one in America either, but I've heard the similar phrase "killing a fly with a sledgehammer" a number of times.– Briguy37Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 15:42
Overkill is originally a military analysis term from the Cold War, referring to the fact that the belligerents each had far more nuclear weapons than they would need to completely destroy the other. These days it's generally used metaphorically to mean precisely the sort of excessive effort or excessive means you talk of.
Bring a gun to a knife-fight is another that comes from combat originally.
answered Jan 16, 2013 at 12:04
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@Kheldar both are found, with clearly opposite meanings - of being under-prepared and hence in danger, or over-prepared and hence escalating things. Your version is more common, with this being by analogy. Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 15:04
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Yes, indeed with the opposite meaning, I did not know the other existed.– KheldarCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 15:39
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3I had heard it as Don't bring a knife to a gunfight, but that particular phrase suffers from a lack of just. Nothing wrong with having a knife at a gunfight, as long as you have a gun, too. Also, as anyone who has been in close-quarters combat will tell you, having just a gun at a knife fight is not overkill, it is ineffective.– kojiroCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 19:08
One American variant, "kill a mosquito with a bazooka".
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1In spanish we say something very similar "Don't use a cannon to kill a mosquito" I think this is traced to Confucio. quoteworld.org/quotes/3150– MGPCommented Mar 15, 2013 at 12:59
Two idioms would be:
- To crack a nut with a sledgehammer.
- To break a (butter)fly on the wheel.
The wheel in question being a device for capital punishment of humans. So using it on a tiny fly would, quite literally, be overkill and it is also not clear if you would actually hit the fly at all or if it would be able to get away swiftly — a connotation it has in common with the Russian idiom you are translating.
answered Jan 16, 2013 at 12:01
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2I think "breaking a butterfly on the wheel" is from Alexander Pope. My impression is that it means not just unnecessary effort, but excessive rage and vindictiveness against a basically harmless little annoyance (and maybe a beautiful and innocent one).– BetaCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 15:37
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1Just saw the "breaking a butterfly on the wheel" today in an article regarding U.S. Federal Prosecutors.– user14070Commented Jan 17, 2013 at 20:43
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The word-order "use a sledgehammer to crack a nut" -- as in Bernie England's answer -- is much commoner, even than "V a nut with a sledgehammer" with any verb: NGram comparison– Rosie FCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 8:00
“Never use a shotgun when a flyswatter will do.”
As Robert Heinlein put it,
You don't spank a baby with an axe.
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1-1 because I don't think it's a common idiom, but +1 because it's a great Heinlein quote! Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 12:33
Heavy-handed is one that can be applied to a lot of different situations. Also "make a mountain out of a molehill" is a good one.
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7"Making a mountain out of a molehill" is something different entirely. It fact it exists in Russian, too, and has nothing to do with the idiom in question. Commented Jan 16, 2013 at 14:39
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1@RegDwighт: The two idioms are quite different, but I wouldn't agree that they have nothing to do with each other.– LarsHCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 18:17
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@LarsH To "make a mountain out of a molehill" is to imagine a problem as larger than it is. The question is about using a tool inappropriate (and sometimes overkill) for the job at hand. There's only a tiiiny bit of overlap - it's borderline unrelated.– IzkataCommented Jan 16, 2013 at 22:05
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Russian version of "Making a mountain out of a molehill" if translated literally sounds "don't make an elephant out of fly"– MikeCommented Jan 17, 2013 at 11:20
As AJ Henderson notes in the comments, there are several common variants of "attacking some small creatures with a large and unwieldy weapon" in use, and I doubt most English-speakers would bat an eye at "shooting sparrows with a cannon."
That said, in my experience, flies do seem to be a more common target in English than sparrows, while the most popular weapons seem to be either cannons or, for a more personal type of combat, sledgehammers. So I'd most likely go for either:
"shooting flies with a cannon," or
"swatting flies with a sledgehammer."
But if you'd prefer to target sparrows instead of flies, please do. Such little departures from the most heavily trodden path will simply give your writing that little bit of extra flavor.
I once used the phrase built a cannon to kill a fly in a paper, referring to the complexity of the "Commercial Exchange" semantic frame that is required in order to understand the meaning of the word money.
answered Jan 16, 2013 at 18:24
You could always nuke the entire site.
Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. -Aliens
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@Beta true enough...– user14070Commented Jan 18, 2013 at 14:16