MAKE A FEDERAL CASE OF Definition & Meaning

make a federal case of

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Also, make a big deal of . Give undue importance to an issue, as in I'll pay you back next week—you needn't make a federal case of it , or Jack is making a big deal of filling out his passport application . The first hyperbolic expression, almost always used in a negative context, alludes to taking a legal action before a high (federal) court. The second alludes to an important business transaction (see big deal , def. 1).

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“They would say: Let’s not make a federal case of it for the average person because it’s not worth it to bring a case unless there’s reason to be concerned that there’s a public safety issue or the trust that everyone is treated equally under the law is at stake.”

From

No need to make a federal case of this.

From

Employees with a mental illness are generally protected from discrimination by U.S. disability-rights law, but few care to make a federal case of it.

From

Do you remember when people used to say, usually in the midst of a tiff with a loved one, "Well, you don't need to make a federal case of it."

From

Maybe those folks aren’t any more enthused about their bosses than a worker at American or United, but they tend to defuse your wrath enough that a flight problem doesn’t spur you to make a federal case of it. is an associate editor for Businessweek.com.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse

�y��vlog