break a butterfly on a wheel

To use excessive force to accomplish something that can be done with far less.

Break a butterfly on a wheel: Sending a SWAT team to deal with a fifteen year old kid disturbing the peace by having his music turned up too loud.

The original phrase "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" was a line from the poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot”, which referenced an ancient torture method known as the “breaking wheel” or “Catherine wheel”.

by |SaltyJack| August 31, 2019

Step on a crack, break your mother's back

This is an old children's game, anyone who trod on the cracks between the paving stones was out, until only one player was left, he or she was then declared the winner.

Step on a crack, break your mother's back– Most of us know the old rhyme “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back.” Whether the rhyme is the cause of, or a result of, this superstition is uncertain, though belief in it persists in many people today, even if subconsciously. Come to think of it, avoiding sidewalk cracks is probably a good policy for anyone who wants to avoid tripping.

by WormBrian October 25, 2009

break a butterfly on the wheel

to waste effort on something that there is no chance of succeeding at.

He keeps trying to get it published but I think he is just trying to break a butterfly on the wheel

by Mehrdad.Hosseiny January 24, 2009

7976yYyou may be inclined to give up on a task that seems impossible to complete but keep at it. You are closer to a breakthrough than you realize, so refuse to admit defeat. It will taste so sweet when it eventually comes together.7967

7976yYyou may be inclined to give up on a task that seems impossible to complete but keep at it. You are closer to a breakthrough than you realize, so refuse to admit defeat. It will taste so sweet when it eventually comes together.7967

7976yYyou may be inclined to give up on a task that seems impossible to complete but keep at it. You are closer to a breakthrough than you realize, so refuse to admit defeat. It will taste so sweet when it eventually comes together.7967

by TheSpartanicaOfAnyHellstromu3e April 27, 2025

Eating Breakfast On A Mirror

Eating breakfast on a mirror is a drug refrence, it means taking coicane when you have just woke up.

John: Hey, it's Amy Whinehouse!"
Tom: "She's had breakfast on a mirror!"
John: "Yeah, she's totally been Eating breakfast on a mirror"

by cows float all the time October 25, 2008