牛鼎烹鸡niú dǐng pēng jīcook a chicken in a large cauldron for boiling a cow—employ a steam hammer to crack anut; use talented people for trivial tasks; waste one’s talent on a petty job
❍ 尊敬的教授先生！ 您怎么还在做这些抄写、剪贴工作？ 这不成了～了吗？他们应该给您配备一些助手。Our respectable professor! Why are you still doing such copying,scissors and paste work? This is a waste of great talent. They should provide some assistants for you. 牛鼎烹鸡niu ding peng jicook chicken in a huge ox-cooking vessel—use talented people for trivial tasks 牛鼎烹鸡niú dǐnɡ pēnɡ jī鼎：古代的一种烹煮的器物。烹：煮。用煮一头牛的大锅来煮一只鸡。比喻大材小用。swat a fly with a cannon, waste one’s talent on a petty job |