much ado about nothing

Forms of much ado about nothing

Origin of much ado about nothing

First appears c. the early 1500s, and first found in The Defense of the Aunswere to the Admonition, against the Replie of T. C., a pamphlet (1574) by John Whitgift (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604). Made popular and particularly known from the title of the comedy play Much Ado About Nothing (1598) by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare had earlier used ado (“business, activity”) in the play Romeo and Juliet (1592) Weele keepe no great adoe, a Friend or two, though it is now frequently used to mean fuss as a contraction of the phrase here; nothing in the title of the play is a wordplay which can also mean noting (“to notice”) besides the usual meaning of nothing.

Questions about much ado about nothing

What does much ado about nothing mean?

Much ado about nothing means a lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.

What part of speech is much ado about nothing?

Much ado about nothing is a phrase.

How do you pronounce much ado about nothing?

Much ado about nothing is pronounced /mʌtʃ əˈduː əˈbaʊt ˈnʌθɪŋ/.