a storm in a teacup
Fuss over nothing
A storm in a teacup is a disproportionate fuss over something trivial—great agitation about a matter that doesn't warrant it.
The image captures how contained the drama really is, despite feeling intense to those involved: The whole controversy turned out to be a storm in a teacup.
The American equivalent is a tempest in a teapot.
Agitated, unnecessary concern
- uproarNoisy public disturbance
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
tizzy · flap · kerfuffle · brouhaha · hullabaloo · commotion · outburst · blowup
Disproportionate fuss about trivialities
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstateRepresent as greater
- embellishAdd decorative elements
inflate · magnify · dramatize · overemphasize · overplay · escalate · overdramatize · sensationalize
Burrower's earth pile
- trifleInsignificant matter or thing
- nonissueTrivial or resolved matter
- pettyOf little importance
- insignificantLacking importance or consequence
minor · unimportant · trivial · inconsequential · nothing · bagatelle · piddling · niggling
fuss
Agitated, unnecessary concern
- uproarNoisy public disturbance
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
melodrama · tizzy · flap · kerfuffle · brouhaha · hullabaloo · commotion · outburst · blowup · flare-up
tempest in a teapot
Disproportionate fuss about trivialities
- overblownInflated beyond reasonable proportion
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overstateRepresent as greater
embellish · inflate · magnify · dramatize · overemphasize · overplay · escalate · overdramatize · sensationalize · amplify
molehill
Burrower's earth pile
insignificant · minor · unimportant · trivial · inconsequential · nothing · bagatelle · piddling · niggling · quibble
a storm in a teacupunderreaction
Insufficiently strong response
downplaying · the elephant in the room · swept under the rug · brushed aside
storm, teacup, storms, stormy, stormed, storming, stormier, stormiest