Etymology

nuke it from orbit

Today it means: To completely eliminate a dangerous or undesirable thing. Full definition →

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The story

Alteration of dialog from the 1986 movie Aliens in which Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) proposes a solution to an infestation of dangerous creatures: "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.