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Commotion over a trifle
much ado about nothing
A commotion over a trifle;
a tempest in a teapot.
It is best remembered as Shakespeare’s title for a comedy, but the term was already known by the time he used it.


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much ado about nothing
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much ado about nothing
A lot of commotion or excitement over something insignificant.
This really isn't a big deal—it's all much ado about nothing.
See also: ado, much, nothing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
much ado about nothing
Clich; a furor over something unimportant. (The name of a Shakespeare play.) All this arguing is much ado about nothing.
See also: ado, much, nothing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
much ado about nothing
A big fuss over a trifle, as in Jerry had everyone running around looking for his gloves-much ado about nothing. Although this expression is best remembered as the title of Shakespeare's comedy, the phrase much ado was already being used for a big commotion or trouble in the early 1500s.
See also: ado, much, nothing
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
much ado about nothing JOURNALISM
If you describe a situation as much ado about nothing, you mean that people are making a lot of fuss about something which is not very important. French newspapers described the international row as `Much Ado About Nothing'. After one year, I dropped out of the course because it was much ado about nothing really. It was all about style, not about content. Note: `Much Ado About Nothing' is the title of a play by Shakespeare.
See also: ado, much, nothing
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
much ado about nothing
A commotion over a trifle; a tempest in a teapot. It is best remembered as Shakespeare’s title for a comedy, but the term was already known by the time he used it. The noun ado, meaning “a big fuss,” survives largely in this clich;.
See also: ado, much, nothing
The Dictionary of Clich;s by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
See also:
ado
bupkis
be worked up about (something)
nothing but trouble
be worked up over (something)
nothing of the kind
nothing of the kind/sort
nothing of the sort
worked up about (something)
worked up over (something)