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• Much Ado About Nothing
  Much Ado About Nothing

  noun

  a comedy (1598?) by Shakespeare.
• much ado about nothing
  much ado about nothing

  A big fuss over a trifle, as in Jerry had everyone running around looking for his gloves—much ado about nothing. Although this expression is best remembered as the title of Shakespeare's comedy, the phrase much ado was already being used for a big commotion or trouble in the early 1500s.

Much Ado About Nothing

American  

noun

1. a comedy (1598?) by Shakespeare.

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much ado about nothing Idioms  

1. A big fuss over a trifle, as in Jerry had everyone running around looking for his gloves—much ado about nothing. Although this expression is best remembered as the title of Shakespeare's comedy, the phrase much ado was already being used for a big commotion or trouble in the early 1500s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Much Ado About Nothing much ado about nothing

He also got to see the 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of "Much Ado About Nothing" — those tickets are free, but handed out either by lottery or to folks who wait in line.

From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2024

The 52-year-old is no stranger to Shakespeare, having previously appeared in productions of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard II and Romeo and Juliet.

From BBC ● May 4, 2023

Washington has experience with Shakespeare adaptations, starring as Julius Caesar on Broadway in 2005 as well a role in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 big screen take on Much Ado About Nothing.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2019

Over the next four years, he would write, produce, and act in a half-dozen stone masterpieces: Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Hamlet.

From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2016

Whatever it was supposed to be much more than, Much Ado About Nothing wasn’t funny.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

But focusing on the COLA’s magnitude is much ado about nothing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Inside the park, however, as the March on the DNC rally was underway, it began to feel like it was all much ado about nothing.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2024

In a letter to members of Congress, distributed by the Supreme Court and reported on by CNN, Alito argued that the controversy was much ado about nothing.

From Salon ● May 29, 2024

Former England international John Barnes described the controversy about the colours on the St George's Cross as "much ado about nothing".

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024

For instance, Raoul’s much ado about nothing comes by way of his father, a failed Shakespearean actor who gave up the dream and started a theater camp for underprivileged children.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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