What would be the word(s) or an idiom to describe a situation where a person is portraying the situation as if it is a lot of effort to do something when in fact it can be accomplished with just a little effort?
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Marshmallow-rice puffery? – 1006a Jun 26 '17 at 19:23
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5Possible duplicate of Are there popular English sayings to express “Big fuss, tiny result”? – Edwin Ashworth Jun 26 '17 at 21:47
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"Drama-queening" seems to be a word. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it is what came to mind. The Cat Who Wasn't a Dog By Marian Babson – Phil Sweet Jun 26 '17 at 21:49
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for 'word-choice' I would go with; exaggerate – sch Jun 27 '17 at 12:50
6 Answers
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"Making a mountain out of a molehill"
An idiom referring to over-reactive, histrionic behaviour where a person makes too much of a minor issue.
Eliot G York
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"to over-egg"
in phrase over-egg the pudding: Go too far in embellishing, exaggerating, or doing something. ‘if you're telling fibs, keep them simple—never over-egg the pudding’ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/over-egg
example: "I think he's over-egging it!"
grateful
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A hoo-ha, from the Oxford English Dictionary
A commotion, a rumpus, a row.
The OED gives several examples; the one most pertinent to the OP's question is:
1971 Country Life 27 May 1328/2 Some of these lovely irises may..be grown..successfully without much hoo-ha.
Merriam-Webster says:
great excitement or concern about something.
An example, which I made up, of the usage the OP is looking for:
Sandy made a big hoo-ha about preparing dinner, but all she did was microwave a frozen pizza and open a bottle of wine.
ab2
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in a word, hyperbole - hy·per·bo·le. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hyperbole
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We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Please explain why your answer is right, ideally with citations. Answers that don't include explanations may be removed. – NVZ Jun 27 '17 at 19:00
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ado noun 1. fuss, especially about something that is unimportant. "on the face of it, this is much ado about almost nothing" 2. trouble or difficulty. "she had much ado to keep up with him"
Edwin Ashworth
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Quotes need to be properly attributed in order to avoid possible breach-of-copyright legislation. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 26 '17 at 23:11
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1"Ado" itself doesn't mean making a situation seem more complicated than it is. "Much ado about nothing", is a phrase that works, however some may find its usage archaic. – Tom Bowen Jun 27 '17 at 10:13
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Or an idiom from the German language
make an elephant out of a mosquito
Herr Derb
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1The dutch language has the same saying, but I wouldn't us this in English – Vincent Jun 27 '17 at 13:20
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