English Idiom – Kill two birds with one stone.
To achieve two things with a single action.
You need to post a parcel, and you also want to get some exercise. So you walk to the post office instead of driving. One trip, two jobs done. You’ve killed two birds with one stone!
Don’t worry, no real birds are harmed when we use this idiom! It’s all about being efficient. It was first recorded in print in 1656, in a published argument between the philosopher Thomas Hobbes and Bishop John Bramhall. An older English saying with the same idea was “to stop two gaps with one bush”.
How to Use It
- The usual pattern is kill two birds with one stone: “I’ll kill two birds with one stone and buy milk on my way home.”
- We often use it with it or that as the subject: “Working from the café kills two birds with one stone.”
- In casual speech, people often shorten it to two birds, one stone: “Lunch meeting? Great, two birds, one stone!”
Note: this idiom is always positive. It describes a clever, time-saving plan, never a mistake.
More animal idioms: A Fish Out of Water, Cry Wolf and Cat Idioms.
Example:
- “Cycling to work kills two birds with one stone: I save money and get fit!”
- “Let’s have the meeting over lunch and kill two birds with one stone.”
- “I visited my grandma and picked up her shopping on the way, so I killed two birds with one stone.”
Learn More
Look it upKill two birds with one stone: meaning and originWiktionaryWhat is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Love animal idioms? See our full list of 50 animal idioms in English, with meanings and examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means to achieve two things with a single action, for example cycling to work so that you save money and get fit at the same time.
It was first recorded in print in 1656, in a published debate between Thomas Hobbes and Bishop John Bramhall. An older English saying, “to stop two gaps with one bush”, had the same idea.
No. Nobody is really hurting birds. It is a very common, friendly idiom that simply means being efficient. You can use it at work, at school or with friends.
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