heavy weather

8.3

Make a task seem harder than it is

idiom

Informal

: complicaciones innecesarias

Don't create heavy weather over this small issue.

Examples

She tends to make heavy weather out of everything.
He tends to make heavy weather of simple tasks, which slows him down.
Don’t make heavy weather of filling out this form—it’s quite straightforward.
He tends to make heavy weather of even the simplest tasks.
The team made heavy weather of what should have been an easy win.
Don't make heavy weather of the project deadline; we can finish it on time with teamwork.
She often makes heavy weather out of minor disagreements, complicating her friendships.

Synonyms

to make heavy weather of

vsheavy weather

8.2

Act as if a task is much harder than it is

is the noun form that names the same difficulty making idea

Antonyms

to ease

305 2.1

To make something less painful or difficult

to simplify

99 2.5

Make something easier to understand or use

How Difficult

to overcomplicate

3 5.8

heavy weather

Informal

8.3

to make a meal of

Informal

1 8.3

to complicate

101 4.1

Surface Forms

heavy weather singular

heavy weathers plural

Morphology

heavy + weather

The components give a plausible clue: 'heavy' (difficult/intense) combined with 'weather' (conditions) can lead a learner to infer something like 'difficult conditions' or treating a situation as difficult. However, the phrase is a metaphorical idiom (often used as 'make heavy weather of') and the specific sense 'to make something more difficult than it needs to be' is not fully predictable from the words alone, so prior exposure is usually needed.

Etymology

Heavy weather comes from old sailors. When a ship met heavy weather, with strong wind and big waves, it slowed and had trouble moving. So, to 'make heavy weather' of a task means to make it harder than it needs to be.