like shooting fish in a barrel

Idioms  

1. Ridiculously easy, as in Setting up a computer nowadays is like shooting fish in a barrel. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the fact that fish make an easy target inside a barrel (as opposed to swimming freely in the sea). [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Floyd has to be able to catch enough birds to sustain his dietary needs, Moore says, and suspects that catching them is like shooting fish in a barrel given the thousands of birds there.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

The rest of the first period was like shooting fish in a barrel.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 14, 2023

Mocking the Raiders in recent years has been like shooting fish in a barrel.

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2016

It wasn’t like shooting fish in a barrel, which is what I prefer.

From Forbes • Apr. 7, 2015

It’s a little like shooting fish in a barrel, picking on college football, but let’s take aim today at awarding hefty guaranteed contracts to average coaches.

From Washington Post • Nov. 26, 2012