make a meal of
The idiom 'make a meal of' is commonly used in British English to describe the act of unnecessarily complicating or exaggerating a task or situation.
🇺🇸 US Voice:
🇬🇧 UK Voice:
Definition
B2General
(informal, British English)To spend more time and effort on something than is necessary, often making it overly complicated.
Example
- He made a meal of the simple task of fixing the door handle.
- She really made a meal of her presentation, adding unnecessary details.
B2General
(informal, British English)To exaggerate the importance or difficulty of a task.
Example
- Don't make a meal of it; it's just a minor issue.
- They made a meal out of the small mistake in the report.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "make a meal of":
make mincemeat out ofeat upmake short work ofmake something ofeat someone alivemake quick work ofgobble upsquare mealmake hard work offeed offeat infamily mealtake a bite out ofsink one's teeth into