(as) gaudy as a butterfly

Very colorful. I wasn't planning on wearing a dress with such a bold pattern—I don't want to look as gaudy as a butterfly. This painting's as gaudy as a butterfly, so there's no way I'm hanging it in my predominantly beige house. You can always pick out an art teacher in a crowd—just look for a top or scarf that's gaudy as a butterfly.

be breaking a butterfly on a wheel

To be applying an excessive amount of force to achieve something minor, unimportant, or insignificant. The phrase appears in the rhetorical question, "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" The line is a quotation from Alexander Pope's poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot." To "break upon a wheel" refers to a form of torture in which the victim has their bones broken while strapped to a large wheel. Primarily heard in UK. The government's use of drone strikes and artillery bombing on the town to wipe out a tiny faction of rebels is totally unjustifiable—they're breaking a butterfly upon a wheel. These contractors are always breaking a butterfly on a wheel. Like, hey, it's not OK to destroy the whole house just to upgrade the electrical wiring! That rogue military group is breaking a butterfly on a wheel by blowing up civilian areas.

See also: breaking, butterfly, on, wheel

break a butterfly on a wheel

To apply an excessive amount of force to achieve something minor, unimportant, or insignificant. The phrase appears in the rhetorical question, "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" The line is a quotation from Alexander Pope's poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot." To "break upon a wheel" refers to a mode of torture, in which a victim has their bones broken while strapped to a large wheel. The government's use of drone strikes and artillery bombing on the town to wipe out a tiny faction of rebels is totally unjustifiable—who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel? Why do these contractors always break a butterfly on a wheel? Like, hey, it's not OK to destroy the whole house just to upgrade the electrical wiring! That rogue military group broke a butterfly on a wheel when they started blowing up civilian areas.

butterflies in (one's) stomach

A feeling of nervousness. The butterflies in my stomach almost kept me from going on stage and performing. The butterflies in my stomach are really bad, Mom. I don't think I can go out there and pitch. Even though I'm student council president, I always get butterflies in my stomach before I have to make announcements in front of the whole school.

See also: butterfly, stomach

float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

To combine graceful or agile movement with intense physical strength or power. Coined by famed US boxer Muhammad Ali. You've got real power behind your punch, but you're too slow and clumsy on your feet. You have to float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. A: "I think he should slim down—it would really make him more agile in the ring." B: "Sure. 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,' right?" Jack's a lumbering oaf who can't land a punch. I don't think "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" will ever apply to him.

get butterflies in (one's) stomach

To have a feeling of nervousness, often before a performance or undertaking of some kind. I always get butterflies in my stomach before I go on stage and perform. I know you've got butterflies in your stomach, but you have to tell Sarah how you feel about her! Even though I'm student council president, I always get butterflies in my stomach before I have to make announcements in front of the whole school.

give (one) butterflies in (one's) stomach

To cause one to have a fluttering feeling of nervousness or anxiety, often before a performance or undertaking of some kind. I love singing, but performing on stage in front of other people always gives me butterflies in my stomach. I know it's giving you butterflies in your stomach, but you've got to go tell Sarah how you feel! Ugh, I have to make the announcement in front of the whole school? Just the thought gives me butterflies in my stomach.

have butterflies in (one's) stomach

To have a feeling of nervousness, often before a performance or undertaking of some kind. I almost didn't go on stage and perform tonight because I had butterflies in my stomach. I know you have butterflies in your stomach, but you have to tell Sarah how you feel about her! Even though I'm student council president, I always have butterflies in my stomach before I make announcements in front of the whole school.

social butterfly

Someone who enjoys frequently mingling with other people at social events. Tom's always been something of a social butterfly, so we've never really worried about him making friends or finding his way in the world. She used to be quite the social butterfly, but no one has heard from Sarah in weeks.

the butterfly effect

The idea that a small change, action, or event can cause much larger one elsewhere or in the future through a chain reaction. An allusion to chaos theory, popularized by the notion that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world might cause a tornado many miles away. It was basically the butterfly effect that led me to this life: My haphazard decision to study Irish literature in college in Canada led me to do a master's degree in Dublin, which led me to an internship for an Irish publisher, which led me to be friends with a co-worker there, who introduced me to the woman who would eventually be my wife. The government's decision to deregulate the market created a butterfly effect that eventually produced the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression.

Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?

A rhetorical question referring to an excessive amount of force that has been applied to achieve something minor, unimportant, or insignificant. The line is a quotation from Alexander Pope's poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot." To "break upon a wheel" refers to a mode of torture, in which a victim has their bones broken while strapped to a large wheel. The government's use of drone strikes and artillery bombing on the town to wipe out a tiny faction of rebels is totally unjustifiable—who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?

*butterflies in one's stomach

a nervous feeling in one's stomach. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone~.) Whenever I have to speak in public, I get butterflies in my stomach. She always has butterflies in her stomach before a test. It was not frightening enough to give me butterflies in my stomach, but it made me a little apprehensive.

See also: butterfly, stomach

*gaudy as a butterfly

fancy; colorful. (*Also: as ~.) Marie looked as gaudy as a butterfly in her new dress. Michael's scarf is gaudy as a butterfly.

butterflies in one's stomach

Fluttering sensations caused by a feeling of nervous anticipation. For example, I always get butterflies in my stomach before making a speech. This term likens a nervous feeling to that resulting from swallowing live butterflies that fly about inside one. [c. 1900]

See also: butterfly, stomach

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

butterflies in your stomach

If you have butterflies in your stomach, you feel very nervous about something that you have to do. He seemed so full of enthusiasm that I felt foolish still having butterflies in my stomach. Now I can go there as a competitor, I'm starting to feel the butterflies in my stomach already. Note: Butterflies is also used in many other structures and expressions with a similar meaning. Any jockey who says he doesn't get butterflies down at the start is telling lies. Carol felt butterflies tumbling in her guts.

See also: butterfly, stomach

be breaking a butterfly on a wheel

BRITISH, LITERARY

If you say that someone is breaking a butterfly on a wheel, you mean that they are using far more force than is necessary to do something. The Huglets have had their ideology combed over, examined, misinterpreted and rewritten. Talk about breaking a butterfly on a wheel. Note: This is a quotation from `Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot' (1735) by Alexander Pope. In the past, the wheel was an instrument of torture. A person was tied to it and then their arms and legs were broken or they were beaten to death. Compare with a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

See also: breaking, butterfly, on, wheel

break a butterfly on a wheel

use unnecessary force in destroying something fragile or insignificant.

In former times, breaking someone upon the wheel was a form of punishment or torture which involved fastening criminals to a wheel so that their bones would be broken or dislocated.

1998 Times But why break a butterfly upon a wheel? What harm does the Liberal Democrat leader do? Unfortunately he may be about to do a great deal.

the butterfly effect

the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere.

The expression comes from chaos theory. In 1979 , Edward N. Lorenz gave a paper to the American Association for the Advancement of Science entitled ‘Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?’

have butterflies in your stomach

have a queasy feeling because you are nervous. informal

get/have ˈbutterflies (in your stomach)

(informal) get/have a nervous feeling in your stomach before doing something: I always get butterflies (in my stomach) before an interview.

social butterfly

A person who flits from event to event without a care in the world. This derogatory phrase is usually but not always applied to women who “live to party.” Going from one dinner party or ball or benefit to another, they are preoccupied with being the height of fashion and popularity. According to one wonderfully descriptive characterization, a social butterfly has a “brow unfurrowed by care or thought."