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Glite Dictionary
to make a meal of

to make a meal of

1 8.3
Act as if something is much more difficult or important than it is
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : exagerar
  • He always makes a meal of minor issues, turning them into major problems.

Examples

  • And I know he makes a meal of it in his book.

  • Don't make a meal of it; it's just a simple misunderstanding.

  • There's no need to make a meal of this situation; we can solve it easily.

Synonyms

to exaggerate
vsto make a meal of
258 3.1

To say something is larger, better, or worse than it really is

does similar exaggeration but especially by making matters seem complicated
to complicate
vsto make a meal of
101 4.1

To make something harder to understand or do

adds an exaggerated sense of importance and unnecessary complication
to overstate
vsto make a meal of
70 4.2

Say something is bigger or more important than it really is

adds the sense of making the situation seem more complex or serious
to inflate
vsto make a meal of
47 4.2

To make something seem more important or bigger than it really is

is more about portraying situations as needlessly complex or serious
to magnify
vsto make a meal of
34 4.6

To make something seem more important or serious than it really is

specifically makes situations seem more complex or troublesome rather than just larger
to expand
vsto make a meal of
20 3.4

To make something seem larger or more important than it is

specifically focuses on presenting situations as more complex or burdensome
to overplay
vsto make a meal of
13 4.6

Make something seem more important or serious than it really is

leans more toward treating situations as overly complicated or difficult
to amplify
vsto make a meal of
9 5.6

To make something seem bigger or more important than it really is

adds the idea of treating the issue as more complicated or difficult
to overemphasize
vsto make a meal of
8 5.5

Treat something as more important than it should be

frames that excess as turning simple matters into bigger, complex issues
to aggrandize
vsto make a meal of
  • Formal
5 9.5

To make something seem more important by adding details or exaggerating

specifically treats situations as more complex or difficult than they are
to blow up
vsto make a meal of
4 3.7

To make something seem more important or bigger than it is

focuses on turning matters into unnecessarily complex or weighty tasks
to make a mountain out of a molehill
vsto make a meal of
  • Informal
3 6.4

Treat a small problem as if it were very serious

focuses on making things seem more complicated or important than necessary
to overcomplicate
vsto make a meal of
3 5.8

Make something harder than it needs to be

matches closely but adds the idea of exaggerating importance as well
to overdramatize
vsto make a meal of
3 6.6

Describe something as more serious or emotional than it really is

instead stresses making ordinary matters seem more complex and troublesome
to make a big thing out of
vsto make a meal of
  • Informal
2 5.8

Treat something as more important or serious than it is

treats things as unnecessarily complex or more important than they are
to overinflate
vsto make a meal of
1 5.1

Make something seem much bigger or more important than it is

instead emphasizes making the matter look needlessly complicated or troublesome
to overblow
vsto make a meal of
1 5.9

To make something seem more important or serious than it is

adds the sense of making the situation seem unnecessarily difficult or awkward
to hyperbolize
vsto make a meal of
  • US
1 7.9

To make something seem much bigger or more important than it really is

focuses on turning a situation into an overly complex or significant matter
to overexaggerate
vsto make a meal of
1 5.4

To make something seem much worse or bigger than it is

does similar exaggeration but emphasizes treating tasks as overly complex
to overdraw
vsto make a meal of
6.6

Describe something as more important or impressive than it really is

is more about making ordinary tasks seem complicated or burdensome
to overegg the pudding
vsto make a meal of
  • UK
9.9

To add too many details and ruin something

focuses on portraying things as more complicated and important rather than just detailed
to overelaborate
vsto make a meal of
8.1

To add too much detail and make something more complicated than needed

is similar but emphasizes treating the overall situation as overly important
to overexpand
vsto make a meal of
5.3

To make writing or an answer longer than necessary

leans more toward presenting tasks as unnecessarily difficult or significant
to overexplain
vsto make a meal of
6.0

To give more explanation than needed and make things confusing or boring

focuses on making matters seem more complex or serious rather than just wordy
to overlard
vsto make a meal of
9.9

To put too many details or ingredients into something so it becomes bad

instead frames the action as treating matters as overly complicated or important
to make heavy weather of
vsto make a meal of
  • UK
8.2

Act as if a task is much harder than it is

is similar but stresses turning things into unnecessarily important or complex matters

Antonyms

to simplify
99 2.5

Make something easier to understand or use

to understate
18 5.2

To make something seem smaller or less important than it really is

How Complicated

to overdo
58 3.6
to make a meal of
  • Informal
1 8.3

Surface Forms

make a meal of infinitive
made a meal of past
made a meal of past participle
making a meal of present participle
makes a meal of third person singular

Morphology

make + a + meal + of

A B1 learner who knows 'make', 'a', 'meal', and 'of' is unlikely to derive the idiomatic sense 'to treat something as more important or complicated than it is' from the literal meaning of preparing/eating a meal, so it is not fully transparent. However, there is a loose metaphorical link (treating something like a substantial, elaborate event) that gives partial predictability, so the expression is semi-transparent rather than fully opaque.

Etymology

Make a meal of comes from the picture of someone making a big meal out of something small—doing a lot of work and fuss as if it were a feast. That's why it now means 'to treat something as more complicated or important than it really is'.