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take not a musket



 
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take not a musket #1 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 21:25 pm   take not a musket
 

Hi dear friends
what does the following sentence mean?
"take not a musket to kill a butt"
is it an idiom?
Hamidp
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take not a musket #2 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 21:56 pm   take not a musket
 

Where did you find this sentence? Can you give us more context?
Jamie (K)
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take not a musket #3 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 22:04 pm   take not a musket
 

I am familiar with "take not a musket to kill a butterfly" but not "a butt", which is an idiom with the same meaning as "break a butterfly on the wheel" or "break a fly on the wheel" or "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Haihao
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take not a musket #4 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 22:13 pm   take not a musket
 

I think Haihao is right. I think the end of the word butterfly was removed somehow.

In modern terms, it basically means, "Don't use a shotgun to kill a butterfly." In other words, don't use enormous destructive power when you only need a little.
Jamie (K)
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take not a musket #5 (permalink) Sat May 24, 2008 0:59 am   take not a musket
 

Just out of curiosity, on what kind of "wheel" a butterfly or a fly is supposed to be broken? Could anyone shed some light on this for me?
Haihao
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take not a musket #6 (permalink) Sat May 24, 2008 1:09 am   take not a musket
 

Haihao wrote:
Just out of curiosity, on what kind of "wheel" a butterfly or a fly is supposed to be broken? Could anyone shed some light on this for me?

I didn't understand that part either.
Jamie (K)
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take not a musket #7 (permalink) Sat May 24, 2008 1:22 am   take not a musket
 

Ever heard of the torture wheel?
NinaZara
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take not a musket #8 (permalink) Sat May 24, 2008 1:27 am   take not a musket
 

In Polish language it does exist "breaking by the wheel" , kind of torture for convicts and criminals the technic developed in Middle Ages.
Could it be connected ? Both things are most probably named very accidental but who knows after all ? Perhaps, it was some special wheel - piece of medieval engineering work the "sophisticated" technology for breaking what ever necessery to break.
Jan
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take not a musket #9 (permalink) Sat May 24, 2008 1:36 am   take not a musket
 

'torture wheel' is enlightening!
Haihao
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