swatting flies with a sledge hammer

Question

Is the phrase "swatting flies with a sledge hammer" a proper way to say that something is a litle bit too complicated?

Similar expression in Spanish: "matar moscas a cañonazos" ("to kill flies with a cannon"). — Charlie, Apr 12 '19 at 08:34
The more usual expression in English is "Use a sledgehammer to crack a nut". As has been said by Jason Bassford this means to use unnecessary force rather than to use an over-complicated solution. Having said that using Excel to work out everyone's share of a meal for four would be described as "Using a sldgehammer to crack a nut".' — BoldBen, Apr 12 '19 at 17:47
Possible duplicate of What's an idiom for doing something in an unnecessarily complicated way? — jimm101, Apr 23 '19 at 14:51

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 12 '19 at 07:19

1

No, because what it means is to use disproportionate force or expense to overcome a minor problem.

its a bit complicated should suffice.

answered Apr 12 '19 at 07:19

Dhiraj

152

thank you. I actually meant what you wrote:) – user343698 Apr 12 '19 at 07:28

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 12 '19 at 14:30

No.

Swatting flies with a sledge hammer would be an example of overkill:

1 : a destructive capacity greatly exceeding that required for a given target
2 : an excess of something (such as a quantity or an action) beyond what is required or suitable for a particular purpose
// publicity overkill
// an overkill in weaponry

The following might be an example of something too complicated:

I swatted a fly with a 6-foot-long Meccano set construction I'd built with two plungers, five rubber bands, a car battery, and an alarm clock.

While, yes, this might also be considered overkill, the hammer solution is very simplistic—while this is very complicated.

swatting flies with a sledge hammer

2 Answers2