shoot an elephant with a BB gun
To attempt an action with drastically insufficient force, effort, or toolsTo attempt an action with drastically insufficient force, effort, or tools.
» The man suddenly started shooting his gun.
Der Mann begann plötzlich mit seinem Gewehr zu schießen. — Tamy
Мужчина внезапно открыл огонь из пистолета. — sharptoothed
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(figuratively)To attempt an action with drastically insufficient force, effort, or tools.
Examples
15 sentencesThe man suddenly started shooting his gun.
ruМужчина внезапно открыл огонь из пистолета. — sharptoothed
deDer Mann begann plötzlich mit seinem Gewehr zu schießen. — Tamy
Tom taught Mary how to shoot a gun.
I was the one who taught Tom how to shoot a gun.
deDas Schießen habe ich Tom beigebracht. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom is shooting with a machine-gun.
ruТом стреляет из пулемёта. — odexed
deTom schießt mit einem Maschinengewehr. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Do you want to shoot the gun?
Forms
shoots an elephant with a BB gun, shooting an elephant with a BB gun, shot an elephant with a BB gun, shot an elephant with a BB gun| Base form | shoot an elephant with a BB gun · to shoot an elephant with a BB gun |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | shoots an elephant with a BB gun |
| Present participle | shooting an elephant with a BB gun |
| Past simple | shot an elephant with a BB gun |
| Past participle | shot an elephant with a BB gun |
irregular · Lesson
Present simpleLesson
| I, you, we, they | shoot an elephant with a BB gun |
| he, she, it | shoots an elephant with a BB gun |
Past simpleLesson
| all persons | shot an elephant with a BB gun |
Present perfectLesson
| I, you, we, they | have shot an elephant with a BB gun |
| he, she, it | has shot an elephant with a BB gun |
Future simple (will)Lesson
| all persons | will shoot an elephant with a BB gun |
Antonyms
1 antonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.