blunt instrument
3
7.0
- noun
- /blʌnt ˈɪnstrəmənt/
:
instrumento contundente
- All this demonstrates that sanctions can be a blunt instrument.
The second point that this dopamine drug example highlights is the fact that the drugs we currently use for the brain are a bit of a blunt instrument.
- The second point that this dopamine drug example highlights is the fact that the drugs we currently use for the brain are a bit of a blunt instrument.
Examples
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Economic sanctions are blunt instruments that often inflict pain at home as much as, or even more than, abroad, and their effectiveness depends on a clear understanding of policy goals and the likely reactions of others.
Academic text (1999) -
When properly used, they are one of many tools that skilled instructors can use to assess the strengths, weaknesses, or progress of students, but when mandated by states as gates to student advancement and institutional funding, they become blunt instruments that dull down the entire educational process.
Academic text (2003) -
Given the kind of gross, blunt instrument that monetary policy is, it is therefore often inappropriate.
Academic text (1993) -
Where subsidies are simply blunt instruments with which governments attempt to effect income redistribution, the story is less rosy.
Academic text (2003) -
The algorithm was a blunt instrument that blocked sites based on a list of keywords and impeded access to valuable teaching tools such as YouTube.
Academic text (2015) -
Many countries have only blunt instruments for achieving environmental compliance, causing them to rely principally on fees, fines, criminal liability, and the threat of plant shutdown.
Academic text (2001) -
"Lawsuits are a blunt instrument that can do one thing—pull the money lever," says law professor Stephan Landsman of DePaul University in Chicago.
Academic text (2007) -
The new tax laws are a blunt instrument that affect many businesses without consideration for individual circumstances.
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Using a blunt instrument in negotiations often leads to disagreements rather than a fair resolution.
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Some argue that social media is a blunt instrument for expressing complex emotions, simplifying them into viral posts.
Antonyms
How Precise
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'blunt' (lacking a sharp edge) readily extends metaphorically to 'lacking subtlety or precision', and 'instrument' clearly denotes a tool or means; combining them yields 'a crude or imprecise tool/method', which is a direct compositional inference. This metaphorical but transparent mapping is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely understand the intended figurative meaning.
Etymology
The expression blunt instrument comes from the picture of a tool that is not sharp: a blunt instrument that hits instead of making fine cuts, like a hammer rather than a scalpel. So we call a law or plan a blunt instrument when it is a rough, forceful way to solve a problem and is 'not precise'.