Looking through Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable for the previous entry I came across "To break a butterfly on a wheel". It's not an expression I've ever heard used verbally but I have read it a couple of times.
It means to use superabundant effort in the accomplishment of a small matter.
We have an expression for that in German, it says "to fire cannons at sparrows". But the butterfly-one sounds much more poetic!
ReplyDeleteOh, I have always assumed this has elements of cruelty - so that something which might be light and cheerful and inconsequential is ruined by being put into the hands of Mr. Gadgrind.
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