Better a bird in the hand than two that are stoned.

Cliches.

Trite, overused, in some cases cheesy, but have still successfully managed to permeate the English language like the Bubonic plague.

Most importantly, cliches are analogies that people can relate to or picture easily in order to address a given situation on a smaller scale. They make saying profound statements, encouragements, or words of wisdom as easy as pie.

Gah.

Now that I have set the precedent for cliches, I'd like to address one that comes to mind that violates the most important ethical standard of them.

"Kill two birds with one stone"

Definitely trite and overused. But relateable? I think not.

The accepted meaning of this cliche deals with economy and efficiency. If you can do one thing, and in that process accomplish two things, then the one thing was an efficient use of your time. The American way. The less you have to do to get the most out of it, the better. This sets the precedent of laziness and short-cutting through work. Doing as little as possible and gaining more than you earned. Fiendish! But actually, quite efficient. Especially when homework is concerned...
Let's move on to the context of the cliche, rather than the underlying meaning.
If you've ever tried killing one bird with one stone, you'd probably find it very hard, and a big time waster. Killing two one the same shot? Bah!
First of all, what would be the point? If you could find a type of bird small enough that you could actually kill two of them easily with one stone, they would have to be too small to eat or too cute to kill. God punishes those who kill cute animals that you can't eat. The only birds that are useful to kill are the larger, edible type. I can assure you that throwing rocks at large fowl is not how the pilgrims got their first Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone knows that the pilgrims used bazookas.
Second of all, even if there was a point to killing little birds with rocks, there is no way you could throw a rock in a straight line and expect that the strength of your throw would be powerful enough to kill two birds, even assuming you could actually hit them without them flying away first. If the rock was heavy enough to kill a bird, you probably couldn't throw it hard or fast enough. If it was light enough for a fast, good throw, it probably won't kill the bird ESPECIALLY not two of them. It's a lose/lose situation for you, and a win/win for the birds. Not very efficient to me.
A better phrasing might be "Nail all the birds with one missil" That'd definitely be a more efficient de-birdinator for the more animal and environment indifferent.

So if anyone tells you that if you do something for them, you'll 'kill two birds with one stone', remember what I have said, and run for your life.

Disclaimer: I do not necessarily condone shooting birds with missils. If anyone attempts this who perchance read this post, I am not responsible for the damages. Any lawsuits will be directed to the back, where they will promptly be shot. Thank you.