Idiom
federal case
Meaning
An exaggerated ordeal; excessive fuss or indignation about some situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“It was just a small mistake, so do not make a federal case.”
“You do not need to make a federal case every time I am late.”
“I forgot to buy milk, but my roommate is making a federal case out of it.”
“The customer made a federal case because the waiter forgot to bring extra napkins for the table.”
“My brother makes a federal case out of a tiny scratch on his car as if the whole vehicle is ruined.”
“Although the error was entirely trivial, the manager insisted on making a federal case of the incident, much to the annoyance of his staff.”
Examples
simple
“It was just a small mistake, so do not make a federal case.”
“You do not need to make a federal case every time I am late.”
contextual
“I forgot to buy milk, but my roommate is making a federal case out of it.”
“The customer made a federal case because the waiter forgot to bring extra napkins for the table.”
“My brother makes a federal case out of a tiny scratch on his car as if the whole vehicle is ruined.”
complex
“Although the error was entirely trivial, the manager insisted on making a federal case of the incident, much to the annoyance of his staff.”
Origin
The term originates from the legal system of the United States of America, where courts with federal jurisdiction are reserved for offenses of a significantly more serious nature than those addressed by local courts. Over the course of the 20th century, the disparity between these jurisdictions provided the basis for the idiom, as moving a matter into a federal court implied a gravity that local proceedings lacked.
Key words
Related idioms
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