殺雞焉用牛刀shā jī yān yòng niú dāowhy use an ox knife to kill a fowl; why break (/crush) a fly on (/upon) the wheel; why shoot sparrows with artillery; why use a steam-hammer to crack nuts
? 殺雞用不著牛刀，敵人敢上來(lái)，我們同心島民兵包啦！(黎汝清《海島女民兵》284) The Concord militia is quite capable of dealing with these “visitors.”We don’t shoot sparrows with artillery.
? 夫子莞爾而笑曰： “～？”(《論語(yǔ)·陽(yáng)貨》) Well pleased and smiling,he said，“Why use an ox knife to kill a fowl? ” 殺雞焉用牛刀sha ji yan yong niu daoyou don't use a butcher’s knife or cleaver to kill a chicken 殺雞焉用牛刀shā jī yān yònɡ niú dāo殺雞哪用得上宰牛刀。比喻小題不必大做。don’t make a fuss over a trifling matter, take not a musket to kill a butterfly |