made a mountain out of a molehill
Blew it up
To make a mountain out of a molehill is to treat a minor problem as if it were a major one—to exaggerate difficulties or react with excessive drama to small setbacks.
The image contrasts the tiny heap of dirt pushed up by a burrowing mole with an enormous peak.
She forgot to call you back once—don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- overreactionDisproportionate emotional response
- overstatementClaim beyond the facts
- misjudgmentFaulty evaluation of something
- tempest in a teapotDisproportionate fuss about trivialities
dramatization · drama queen · sensationalism · aggrandizement · amplification · alarmism · misunderstanding · misinterpretation · magnification · embellishment · escalation · getting worked up · panic · crying wolf · anxiety · impulsivity · knee-jerk reaction · inflation
made a mountain out of a molehillstayed calm
made a mountain out of a molehilldownplayed
Minimized the significance of
minimized · brushed off · shrugged off · dismissed · understated
mountain, mountains, mountainous, mountaineer, mountaineering, mounts, mounted, mounting