use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Meaning: (intransitive,Australia,British,New Zealand,idiomatic,informal)Tousedisproportionateorsignificantlyexcessiveforcetocarry outanaction; todosomethingoverzealously.Synonym:(Canada, US)use a sledgehammer to kill a gnatAntonyms:shoot an elephant with a BB gun,kill an elephant with a BB gun[1983January 20, Lord Diplock [i.e.,Kenneth Diplock, Baron Diplock];Lord of Appeal in Ordinary;House of Lords, “Regina, respondent, and Goldstein, appellant [[1983]1 W.L.R. 151]”, inThe Weekly Law Reports, volume 1, London:Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales,→ISSN,→OCLC, page155:This last mentioned consideration involves the concept in Community law (derived principally from German law) called "proportionality". In plain English it means "You must notuse a steam hammer to crack a nut, if a nutcracker would do."]2010September 21, “‘A sledgehammer to crack a nut’: Three police officers and a patrol car rush to … children playing football in the street”, inDaily Mail‎[1], London:DMG Media,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon6 March 2023:Today, Mr [Anthony] Worthington, an engineer, said: 'Sending three officers over simply to give a warning about kids playing football in the street is likeusing a sledgehammer to crack a nut.[…]'2022December 17, Martin Evans, quoting Mike Bartonet al., “Law to curb Just Stop Oil protests ‘a sledgehammer to crack a nut’, say ex-police chiefs”, inChris Evans, editor,The Daily Telegraph‎[2], London:Telegraph Media Group,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon18 February 2023:In our view the Public Order Bill is an attempt by the Government touse a sledgehammer to crack a nut. At a time when we should be focusing on rebuilding trust in the police, this Bill risks stoking further mistrust and undermining their vital role in protecting the public.

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