小题大做
xiǎo​tí​dà​zuò

to make a mountain out of a molehill

  • created reference approved 小题大做/小題大做 → 小题大作/小題大作 (variant) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    小题大做 / 小題大做 xiǎo​tí​dà​zuò

    小题大作 / 小題大作 xiǎo​tí​dà​zuò

    variant

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 小题大做/小題大做 · xiǎo​tí​dà​zuò · to make a mountain out of a molehill — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    小题大做 / 小題大做

    xiǎo​tí​dà​zuò

    to make a mountain out of a molehill

    To treat a minor matter as a major issue; to make a big fuss over nothing, often implying intentional exaggeration. Originally a term for using a complex writing style meant for the Five Classics on a simpler exam topic from the Four Books.

    小 (literal) → 小 · xiǎo · small 题 (literal) → 题/題 · tí · topic 大 (literal) → 大 · dà · big 做 (literal) → 做 · zuò · to do

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense