much ado about nothing

First appearing in the early 1500s, the phrase was recorded in 1574 within the pamphlet *The Defense of the Aunswere to the Admonition, against the Replie of T. C.* by John Whitgift. Whitgift, who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604, utilised the expression as a descriptor for unnecessary exertion before William Shakespeare secured its place in the lexicon.

Shakespeare employed the word *ado*, meaning business or activity, in his 1592 play *Romeo and Juliet* with the line, "Weele keepe no great adoe, a Friend or two." By 1598, he used the full phrase as the title for the comedy *Much Ado About Nothing*. The title relied upon a pun, as *nothing* was a homophone for *noting*, or the act of noticing, in the English of the period. The modern sense of the phrase as a contraction for a fuss has since superseded the original meaning of simple activity.