brain surgery

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

brain surgery (usually uncountable, plural brain surgeries)

1. Surgery on any part of the nervous system, especially the brain; neurosurgery.
2. (uncountable, idiomatic, hyperbolic, chiefly in the negative) Something that is overly complex, detailed or confusing.

   Synonym: rocket science

   It's not brain surgery. Just screw in the bulb and flip the switch.

Usage notes

• This phrase is usually used in a negative comparison, as in the example above, to show that something is (or should be) simple, straightforward, or obvious.

Synonyms

• (something complex and confusing): rocket science

Derived terms

• rocket surgery

 

Translations

surgery

• Finnish: aivoleikkaus
• French: neurochirurgie (fr) f
• German: Gehirnchirurgie f
• Hungarian: agysebészet (hu)
• Russian: нейрохирурги́я (ru) f (nejroxirurgíja)
• Spanish: cirugía cerebral f
• Ukrainian: нейрохірургі́я f (nejroxirurhíja, literally “neurosurgery”)

something complex

• Danish: raketvidenskab c
• Dutch: hogere wiskunde f
• Hungarian: agysebészet (hu)
• Spanish: física cuántica f, máster (es) m