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Is there an idiom/ phrase/ expression or proverb that conveys this meaning:

"As long as there is a more simple solution for solving a problem don't choose a more complicated one."
or: "when you can do something in a more simple way, why do you use a more difficult way?"

we use this proverb in Farsi:

"When you can open a knot with your hands, you don't have to open it with your teeth!"

Suppose that there are some different ways for solving a problem (and all of them will work), if you choose the most complicated solution among those available ways, instead of trying the more simple ones at first, you'll be criticized by being told this proverb. (It doesn't necessarily mean that your making the problem bigger, it just mean that you postpone solving the problem by using that complicated available solution).

You can use this proverb specially in political issues, for example; as long as negotiation can work, there in no need to use military actions.

Edit( sep 25th):

I just found this proverb: "Cross the stream where it is shallowest."

Do you think that it could be the answer to my question?

Soudabeh
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  • Similar but not identical in meaning is - "Don't make a mountain out of a molehill." http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/make+a+mountain+out+of+a+molehill - Also similar is, "Don't overegg the pudding" http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/over-egg+the+pudding – chasly - supports Monica Sep 18 '15 at 17:29
  • @chasly from UK, We have a similar proverb in Persian, too. and it means that "your making the problem bigger ", But the proverb I have mentioned in my question , is used sarcastically when we are talking / discussing a solution chosen for solving a given problem, ( when a more complicated solution is selected among other more simple options). – Soudabeh Sep 18 '15 at 17:37
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    I have no idea how idiomatic this is, but "don't use a grenade to dig a hole when a shovel will do" seems spot on. I found references here and here. – VampDuc Sep 18 '15 at 17:40
  • @VampDuc, thanks a lot, it has exactly the same connotation, but do you have a more valid reference? I coudn't find any, other than those you have given in your comment . – Soudabeh Sep 18 '15 at 17:47
  • @J008 I'm afraid not. Those were the only two references I could find, and they reference the same talk. – VampDuc Sep 18 '15 at 18:04
  • No problem, @VampDuc, but I hope we can find a reliable reference, because it is exactly the answer to my question. – Soudabeh Sep 18 '15 at 18:09
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    KISS -- Keep It Simple, Stupid. – Hot Licks Sep 19 '15 at 02:28
  • Thanks, @Hot Licks, close meaning, but is it polite to use it ,for example when we are taking to a politician or someone in higher position than us? [ because of "stupid" in that sentence, :) ] – Soudabeh Sep 19 '15 at 03:22
  • It's called the "KISS" principle. It's used quite a bit in technical businesses, and it would not be unusual to see it used in a formal business letter. In other contexts I can't say. (But I've certainly heard politicians say far more shocking, less polite things. In the past week.) – Hot Licks Sep 19 '15 at 12:02
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    A mathematics lecturer I once knew always used to say: "Don't use a bazooka to kill a fly" – Shai Sep 25 '15 at 11:57
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    And attributed to Einstein: Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler. – Hot Licks Sep 25 '15 at 12:00
  • Thank you so much, @ Hot Licks! nice quote, close connotation. :) – Soudabeh Sep 25 '15 at 12:16
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    FWIW, I offer you "Wandering for ghee, with butter in hand", a famous Indian saying! – BiscuitBoy Jan 21 '16 at 16:51
  • "Cross the stream where it is shallowest" sounds to me like the best match for a proverbial expression meaning "use the simplest approach to solving a problem." You may also have heard of the figurative term Occam's razor, named after a medieval English philosopher, William of Ockham, who (as I understand it) argued that, if you are faced with several proposed explanations of a problem or phenomenon, the least convoluted one that takes all of the important data into account is, on that account, the one most likely to be true. – Sven Yargs Jan 21 '16 at 20:14

6 Answers6

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Maybe this one gets close:

Don't use sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Meaning

To use 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut' means to use disproportionate force or expense to overcome a minor problem

The phrase finder

chasly - supports Monica
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3

A very common idiomatic phrase used in this context is "the hard way". E.g.:

  • "You really like doing things the hard way don't you?"

  • "Why do things the hard way?"

A similar idiom that refers to making things unnecessarily difficult for yourself in the sense of creating potential future problems, is:

bruised reed
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3

There's actually a single word that conveys this: roundabout. Eg. "That's a roundabout way of doing it it".

moismailzai
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2

I don't think there is an idiomatic expression with that precise connotation; a phrase that is often used in similar contexts is:

  • Why make life difficult?
  • Thanks, we use it, too. But we use that proverb when we are talking about problems and chosen solution, as a sarcastic proverb. :) – Soudabeh Sep 18 '15 at 17:30
1

There are several humorous idioms of the form "Going around your X to get to your Y" which mean you are taking an unnecessarily complicated way to achieve a simple goal. Some of them are crude and might not be appropriate in polite conversation.

...going around your ass to get to your elbow, going around your elbow to get to your nose, going around your elbow to get from your thumb to your pinkie.

barbecue
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0

As an exasperated response to who is doing things the hard way, I've run across

You don't have to kill a cat by choking it with cream!

WhatRoughBeast
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