nuke it from orbit

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."

nuke it from orbit (third-person singular simple present nukes it from orbit, present participle nuking it from orbit, simple past and past participle nuked it from orbit)

1. (informal, often humorous) To completely eliminate a dangerous or undesirable thing.

• Usually used as a commentary on the merits of the thing to be nuked rather than as a call to action.
• In information security, implies that a system has been so thoroughly compromised that the only choice is to completely recreate it.