English · Idiom Candidate

use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To use excessive force to accomplish something simple

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

dùng lực quá mạnh để làm việc đơn giản

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: hitting a nut with a large hammer

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The principle of proportionality — do not use a sledgehammer to crack a nut — is straightforward logic.

At the operational level planning tasks will be simpler and there is less need to look for complex procedures as it would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent giết gà dùng dao mổ trâu use a sledgehammer to crack a nut Tiếng Việt Near equivalent two ha'pennies for a penny Something is not worth the effort or cost English · via giết gà dùng dao mổ trâu

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Common questions

What does “use a sledgehammer to crack a nut” mean?

To use excessive force to accomplish something simple Literally: hitting a nut with a large hammer

Is “use a sledgehammer to crack a nut” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“giết gà dùng dao mổ trâu” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.