kill two birds with one stone

1. To accomplish two objectives with a single action: “If we can get gas and have lunch at the next rest stop, we will be killing two birds with one stone.”

Idioms and Phrases

Achieve two ends with a single effort, as in As long as I was in town on business, I thought I'd kill two birds and visit my uncle too . This expression is so well known that it is often shortened, as in the example. [c. 1600]