much ado about nothing
A lot of fuss or bother about something trivialA lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.
» It isn't much, but it's better than nothing.
Это немного, но лучше, чем ничего. — marafon
Это не так много, но лучше, чем ничего. — marafon
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)A lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.
viel Lärm um nichts, viel Geschrei und wenig Wolle
мно́го шу́ма из ничего́mnógo šúma iz ničevó
Examples
17 sentencesIt isn't much, but it's better than nothing.
ruЭто немного, но лучше, чем ничего. — marafon
Much ado about nothing.
Багато шуму з нічого. — deniko
ruМного шума из ничего. — al_ex_an_der
deViel Lärm um nichts. — Espi
He spoke much, yet said nothing.
She spoke much, yet said nothing.
ruОна много говорила, но ничего не сказала. — atitarev
deSie redete viel, sagte aber nichts. — atitarev
So much time waiting for nothing.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
First appears c. the early 1500s, and first found in The Defense of the Aunswere to the AdFirst appears c. the early 1500s, and first found in The Defense of the Aunswere to the Admonition, against the Replie of T. C., a pamphlet (1574) by John Whitgift (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604). Made popular and particularly known from the title of the comedy play Much Ado About Nothing (1598) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare had earlier used ado (“business, activity”) in the play Romeo and Juliet (1592) Weele keepe no great adoe, a Friend or two, though it is now frequently used to mean fuss as a contraction of the phrase here; nothing in the title of the play is a wordplay which can also mean noting (“to notice”) besides the usual meaning of nothing.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.