Make a mountain out of a molehill
Encyclopedia
Making a mountain out of a molehill is an idiom
referring to over-reactive, histrionic behaviour where a person makes too much of a minor issue.
for the common behaviour of responding disproportionately to something - usually an adverse circumstance. One who "makes a mountain out of a molehill" is said to be greatly exaggerating the severity of the situation. In cognitive psychology
, this form of distortion
is called magnification
. The term is also used to refer to one who has dwelled on a situation that has long passed and is therefore no longer significant.
The phrase is so common that a study by psychologists found that with respect to "familiarity" and "image value", it ranks in the top quartile of the 203 common sayings they tested. It is an example of exaggerative accentuation.
phrase is in 1548. The word for the animal involved was less than two hundred years old by then. Previous to that the mole had been known by its Old English name wand, which had slowly changed to 'want'. A molehill was known as a 'wantitump', a word that continued in dialect use for centuries more. The old name of want was then replaced by mold(e)warp (meaning earth-thrower), a shortened version of which (molle) began to appear in the later 14th century and the word molehill in the first half of the 15th century.
The idiom is found in Nicholas Udall
's translation of The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente
(1548) in the statement that "The Sophistes of Grece coulde through their copiousness make an Elephant of a flye, and a mountaine of a mollehill." The comparison of the elephant with a fly (elephantem ex musca facere) is an old Latin proverb that Erasmus himself had recorded in his collection of such phrases, the Adagia
; variations on it still continue in use throughout Europe. The mountain and molehill seem to have been added by Udall and the phrase has continued in popular use ever since. If the idiom was not coined by Udall himself, the linguistic evidence above suggests that it cannot have been in existence long.
Idioms with a similar meaning include 'Much ado about nothing' and 'Making a song and dance about nothing'. They are the opposite of the formerly popular fable about the mountain in labour
that gives birth to a mouse. In the former too much is made of little; in the latter one is led to expect much, but with too little result. The two appear to converge in William Caxton
's translation (1484), where he makes of the mountain a hylle whiche beganne to tremble and shake by cause of the molle whiche delved it. In other words, he mimics the meaning of the fable and turns a mountain into a molehill. It is out of this bringing together of the two that the English idiom has grown.
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
referring to over-reactive, histrionic behaviour where a person makes too much of a minor issue.
Metaphor
The idiom is a metaphorMetaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for the common behaviour of responding disproportionately to something - usually an adverse circumstance. One who "makes a mountain out of a molehill" is said to be greatly exaggerating the severity of the situation. In cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
, this form of distortion
Cognitive distortion
Cognitive distortions are exaggerated and irrational thoughts identified in cognitive therapy and its variants, which in theory perpetuate certain psychological disorders. The theory of cognitive distortions was first proposed by Aaron T. Beck. Eliminating these distortions and negative thoughts is...
is called magnification
Exaggeration
Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner. The exaggerator has been a familiar figure in Western culture since at least Aristotle's discussion of the alazon: 'the boaster is regarded as one who pretends to have distinguished qualities which he possesses either not at all...
. The term is also used to refer to one who has dwelled on a situation that has long passed and is therefore no longer significant.
The phrase is so common that a study by psychologists found that with respect to "familiarity" and "image value", it ranks in the top quartile of the 203 common sayings they tested. It is an example of exaggerative accentuation.
Origin
The earliest recorded use of this alliterativeAlliteration
In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
phrase is in 1548. The word for the animal involved was less than two hundred years old by then. Previous to that the mole had been known by its Old English name wand, which had slowly changed to 'want'. A molehill was known as a 'wantitump', a word that continued in dialect use for centuries more. The old name of want was then replaced by mold(e)warp (meaning earth-thrower), a shortened version of which (molle) began to appear in the later 14th century and the word molehill in the first half of the 15th century.
The idiom is found in Nicholas Udall
Nicholas Udall
Nicholas Udall was an English playwright, cleric, pederast and schoolmaster, the author of Ralph Roister Doister, generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English language.-Biography:...
's translation of The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente
The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente
The First tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente edited by Nicholas Udall, first published in January 1548 by Edward Whitchurch, is the first volume of a book combining an English translation of the New Testament interleaved with an English translation of Desiderius...
(1548) in the statement that "The Sophistes of Grece coulde through their copiousness make an Elephant of a flye, and a mountaine of a mollehill." The comparison of the elephant with a fly (elephantem ex musca facere) is an old Latin proverb that Erasmus himself had recorded in his collection of such phrases, the Adagia
Adagia
Adagia is an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' collection of proverbs is "one of the most monumental ... ever assembled" Adagia (adagium is the singular form and adagia is the plural) is an...
; variations on it still continue in use throughout Europe. The mountain and molehill seem to have been added by Udall and the phrase has continued in popular use ever since. If the idiom was not coined by Udall himself, the linguistic evidence above suggests that it cannot have been in existence long.
Idioms with a similar meaning include 'Much ado about nothing' and 'Making a song and dance about nothing'. They are the opposite of the formerly popular fable about the mountain in labour
The Mountain in Labour
The Mountain in Labour is one of Aesop's Fables and appears as number 520 in the Perry Index. It was often cited in Classical times and applied to a variety of situations. It refers to speech acts which promise much but deliver little....
that gives birth to a mouse. In the former too much is made of little; in the latter one is led to expect much, but with too little result. The two appear to converge in William Caxton
William Caxton
William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat, writer and printer. As far as is known, he was the first English person to work as a printer and the first to introduce a printing press into England...
's translation (1484), where he makes of the mountain a hylle whiche beganne to tremble and shake by cause of the molle whiche delved it. In other words, he mimics the meaning of the fable and turns a mountain into a molehill. It is out of this bringing together of the two that the English idiom has grown.