kill two birds with one stone

Cultural  

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.”

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kill two birds with one stone Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

“If the decision is made to move the Hahn Center seems to kill two birds with one stone, preserving the 1960 architecture and housing irreplicable art objects.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2025

For Republicans, it’s a chance to kill two birds with one stone.

From Slate • Feb. 5, 2025

“If you can kill two birds with one stone, I’m that kind of person,” she said, adding that “being able to design it and make it more modern-looking is ideal.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 30, 2022

I have an idea that may kill two birds with one stone.

From Washington Post • Jul. 27, 2022

She’d be needing a fresh bar of soap within the hour and could kill two birds with one stone if she got it now.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith