Advertisement
Advertisement
make a mountain out of a molehill
- To blow an issue or event out of proportion: âYou have only a small blister on your heel, but you complain as though you broke your leg. Why are you making a mountain out of a molehill?â
Idioms and Phrases
Exaggerate trifling difficulties, as in If you forgot you racket you can borrow oneâdon't make a mountain out of a molehill . This expression, alluding to the barely raised tunnels created by moles, was first recorded in John Fox's The Book of Martyrs (1570).Example Sentences
âItâs just that no one else could do it. Letâs not make a mountain out of a molehill.â
âLetâs not make a mountain out of a molehill,â she said speaking at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
âI donât want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I also want to be careful to follow what the rules are,â he said.
She saw a giant scaly creature squish a mountain with its thumb, muttering, âMake a mountain out of a molehill, you say? Ha! How about making a mountain into a molehill! Thatâs far more interesting. Yes, yes.â
Similarly, Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said investors shouldnât make a âmountain out of a molehill,â with the most recent quarterly figures.
Advertisement
More About Make A Mountain Out Of A Molehill
What doesÌęmake a mountain out of a molehill mean?
Make a mountain out of a molehill means to exaggerate something minor or trivial, as in You are making a mountain out of a molehill when you say that missing one basket is the end of your entire basketball career.
A molehill is a small mound of dirt that moles leave when digging tunnels. Obviously, a molehill is very tiny and insignificant compared to a mountain. The idiom alludes to a person treating a âmolehillâ of a problem as if it were a âmountainâ of a problemâone that is much bigger or more important.
Make a mountain out of a molehill is typically used in the context of someone who is getting incredibly upset, angry, or worried about something that doesnât matter or that is a small problem.
It is often used to tell a person that they are making a big deal out of something small, as in Donât make a mountain out of a molehillâitâs just a little spill.
Example: Darnellâs parents made a mountain out of a molehill when he wrote on the wall with washable markers.
Where doesÌęmake a mountain out of a molehill come from?
The first records of the phrase make a mountain out of a molehill come from 1570. It first appeared in historian John Foxeâs The Book of Martyrs.Ìę
Make a mountain out of a molehill is most often said by one person to lower another personâs stress or to criticize them for overreacting. However, a person using this phrase may not be right. The person reacting may have different priorities or have knowledge that proves the problem is in reality quite serious.
Did you know ... ?
What are some synonyms for make a mountain out of a molehill?
What are some words that share a root or word element with make a mountain out of a molehill?Ìę
What are some words that often get used in discussing make a mountain out of a molehill?
How isÌęmake a mountain out of a molehill used in real life?
Make a mountain out of a molehill commonly used in the context of trying to calm a person down or criticize them for getting overly upset about something minor.
So the Leafs are losing. There's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.
But just to be safe, they should probably fire their coach, GM and mascot.
And undraft Matthews.
â Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont)
Tip of the day: Donât make a mountain out of a molehill. Breathe. Take situations as they are. Overthinking is pointless and far from a solution.
â yadi (@yadirtyy)
I overthink too much and always make mountains out of a molehills
â moll (@mollywollydoodh)
Ìę
Ìę
Try usingÌęmake a mountain out of a molehill!
Is make a mountain out of a molehill used correctly in the following sentence?
The police were unamused when they discovered the store owner had made a mountain out of a molehill and the ferocious beast in the store turned out to be a sleeping puppy.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse