Idiom
kill two birds with one stone
Meaning
To solve two problems with one single action.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I'll kill two birds with one stone and shop on my way home.”
“By cycling to work, she kills two birds with one stone: saving money and staying fit.”
“Holding the conference in her hometown let her kill two birds with one stone, presenting her research and visiting family.”
Examples
simple
“I'll kill two birds with one stone and shop on my way home.”
contextual
“By cycling to work, she kills two birds with one stone: saving money and staying fit.”
complex
“Holding the conference in her hometown let her kill two birds with one stone, presenting her research and visiting family.”
Real-World Examples
“When Richard Gasquet won his Wimbledon first-round match against Yuichi Sugita, the Frenchman killed two birds with one stone -- he earned a clash with eight-times champion Roger Federer and a match on the hallowed Centre Court turf.” “T. H. thinks to kill two birds with one stone, and satisfy two arguments with one answer.” “The designer says that he decided to kill two birds with one stone for this project by designing the ChimChum to generate electricity for the home while effectively drawing lingering fumes up and out of the chimney.” Origin
Attested in 17th-century English (used by Thomas Hobbes in 1656); the image of one act achieving two ends is ancient.
Key words
Related idioms
- Level
- B1 · Intermediate
- Updated