ENGLISH
REFERENCE

much ado about nothing

idiom
Meaning

A lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.


Origin

first recorded 16th c.

First appears c. the early 1500s, and first found in The Defense of the Aunswere to the Admonition, against the Replie of T. C., a pamphlet (1574) by John Whitgift (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604). Made popular and particularly known from the title of the comedy play Much Ado About Nothing (1598) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare had earlier used ado (“business, activity”) in the play Romeo and Juliet (1592) Weele keepe no great adoe, a Friend or two, though it is now frequently used to mean fuss as a contraction of the phrase here; nothing in the title of the play is a wordplay which can also mean noting (“to notice”) besides the usual meaning of nothing.

Examples
SIMPLE

People are making much ado about nothing regarding the small change.

CONTEXTUAL

The office meeting turned into much ado about nothing when the manager realized the error was actually minor.

COMPLEX

Despite the intense media coverage and public outcry, the entire scandal proved to be much ado about nothing once the facts emerged.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    come to nothing

    To fail completely; to have no result.

  2. 02

    dance on nothing

    To be hanged.

  3. 03

    here goes nothing

    Indicates a lack of confidence or certainty about the activity about to be tried.

  4. 04

    hiding to nothing

    A situation in which victory has little or no value, but defeat has a huge cost.

  5. 05

    if nothing else

    At the very least; as a minimum.

  6. 06

    much of a muchness

    Of two or more things, having little difference of any significance between them.

  7. 07

    not much of anything

    Very little; not a lot.

  8. 08

    nothing doing

    Absolutely not; definitely no.

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