make a big thing out of

Verb

make a big thing out of (third-person singular simple present makes a big thing out of, present participle making a big thing out of, simple past and past participle made a big thing out of)

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To call attention to or publicize; to make a fuss about, especially unnecessarily.
   • "I don't know but what you are right. We intend to make a big thing out of you, Dick Rover." / "How?" / "I told you before you'd find out soon enough." / "I presume you'll try to make my father ransom me, or something like that."1901, Arthur M. Winfield [pseudonym; Edward Stratemeyer], “The Sailing of the ‘Peacock’”, in The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes: Or The Secret of the Island Cave (Rover Boys’ Series for Young...
   • "Mr. Marlowe," she told him quietly, "makes a big thing out of trifles. But when it comes to a really big thing—like saving a man's life—he is out by the lake watching a silly speedboat."1953, Raymond Chandler, chapter 42, in The Long Good-bye, London: Hamish Hamilton, →OCLC; republished as The Long Goodbye, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, August 1992, →ISBN, page 302

   Synonyms:

   make a federal case of, make a meal of, make a production of, make a song and dance about, blow out of proportion