overkill

English translation: excess/excessive

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:overkill
Selected answer:excess/excessive
Entered by: Rachel Fell

09:42 Apr 10, 2006
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Science - Science (general) / Calibration
English term or phrase: overkill
Calibration frequency
The question isn’t whether to calibrate — we can see that’s a given. The question is when to calibrate. There is no “one size fits all” answer. Consider these calibration frequencies:


Annually. If you do a mix of critical and non-critical measurements, annual calibration tends to strike the right balance between prudence and cost.
Biannually. If you seldom do critical measurements and don’t expose your meter to an event, calibration at long frequencies can be cost-effective.
Never. If your work requires just gross voltage checks (e.g., “Yep, that’s 480V”), calibration seems like "overkill". But what if your instrument is exposed to an event? Calibration allows you to use the instrument with confidence.

Any help much appreciated, thanks.
Ziad Marzouka
Switzerland
Local time: 02:25
excess/excessive
Explanation:
excessive effort or intervention

overkill
n 1: the capability to obliterate a target with more weapons
(especially nuclear weapons) than are required
2: any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary
to achieve its goal

http://dict.die.net/overkill/
Selected response from:

Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:25
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +13excess/excessive
Rachel Fell
3 +8too much
Natalie Wilcock (X)


  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +8
too much


Explanation:
simply just: calibration seems too much, or a bit over the top...
Just a shot to get the ball rolling.

Natalie Wilcock (X)
Local time: 02:25
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rachel Fell
1 min
  -> Thanks, Rachel. Cheers, Natalie

agree  Karen Haggerty
4 mins
  -> Thank you Karen. Regards, Natalie

agree  Peter Shortall
7 mins
  -> Thanks, Peter. Regards, Natalie

agree  vixen
36 mins
  -> Thanks, vixen. Regards, Natalie

agree  Alfa Trans (X)
7 hrs
  -> thank you Marju.

agree  humbird: Yes, done more than required.
8 hrs
  -> Thanks Susan

agree  Isodynamia
10 hrs
  -> Thank you Constantina.

agree  Jörgen Slet
1 day 12 hrs
  -> Thank you Jorgen. Regards, Natalie
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +13
excess/excessive


Explanation:
excessive effort or intervention

overkill
n 1: the capability to obliterate a target with more weapons
(especially nuclear weapons) than are required
2: any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary
to achieve its goal

http://dict.die.net/overkill/

Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Dave Calderhead: a sledgehammer to crack a walnut
3 mins
  -> Yes, quite! Thanks:)

agree  Karen Haggerty
4 mins
  -> Thank you Karen:)

agree  Peter Shortall
7 mins
  -> Thanks, Peter:)

agree  Paula Vaz-Carreiro
13 mins
  -> Thank you, Paula:)

agree  vixen
36 mins
  -> Thank you vixen:)

agree  Mwananchi: Is your first option a bit of an overkill here?
1 hr
  -> Yes, I agree, it's just the first reasonable definition I found! But is that where the expression originated anyway?

agree  Jack Doughty
2 hrs
  -> Thank you Jack:)

agree  Ken Cox: in this case, it could be paraphrased as 'unnecessary' or 'pointless' // and incidentally, you're right about the origin of 'overkill'
3 hrs
  -> Thank you Kenneth - I agree about the paraphrasing, "overkill" is quite often used in this casual/colloquial way

agree  NancyLynn
3 hrs
  -> Thank you NancyLynn:)

agree  RHELLER: who cares about precise accuracy?
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Rita;-)

agree  Raging Dreamer
5 hrs
  -> Thank you Raging Dreamer:)

agree  humbird: Yes, overdone, done more than necessary.
8 hrs
  -> Thank you Susan:)

agree  Jörgen Slet
1 day 12 hrs
  -> Thank you Jorgen:)
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