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French Proverb
| Meaning | to kill two birds with one stone | |
| Literally | to strike twice with one stone, to do two jobs with one stone | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[fehr dun pyehr deu koo] |
| IPA | [fɛʁ dyn pjɛʁ dø ku] | |
Usage notes: Faire d’une pierre deux coups always makes me think of skipping stones, but of course a good stone will skip more than just twice. In any case, the stone in this French proverb and its English equivalent isn’t just bouncing across water; it’s performing two tasks that would normally take two separate "stones" to accomplish. It’s about efficiency and getting things done.
Par exemple…
| Tu dois aller à la banque ? Moi aussi – viens avec moi et on peut faire d’une pierre deux coups. | You need to go to the bank? Me too – come with me and we can kill two birds with one stone. | |
| Fais d’une pierre deux coups : si tu ranges ta chambre, tu trouveras ta raquette de tennis. | Kill two birds with one stone: if you clean your room, you’ll find your tennis racket. |
Synonymous expression
- faire coup double
In hunting, faire coup double means "to do a right and left"
Related expressions
- un fusil à deux coups – double-barreled rifle
- faire un coup (informal) – to pull off an illegal job
Related lessons
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