nothing burger

Noun

nothingburger (plural nothingburgers)

1. (informal) An unimportant person; a nobody, a nonentity.
   • After all, if it hadn’t been for Sam[uel] Goldwyn Farley [Granger] might very well be a nothingburger. However, I have a hunch this whole arrangement is on a friendly basis.1953 June 1, Louella O[ettinger] Parsons, “Farley Granger Wins His Release—at Last: But Sam Goldwyn Retains an Option to Sign Star again in 18 Months”, in San Francisco Examiner, volume CLXXXXVII...

   Synonyms:

   absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher, crumb, Joe Nobody, little guy, minnow, nebbish, nobody

   Antonyms:

   baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise, big shot, bigwig

2. (informal) Something of less importance than its treatment suggests; also, something which is bland or unremarkable in appearance or impact.
   • She [Anne Gorsuch Burford] calls NACOA [the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere] a "joke" and a "nothingburger," whatever that is. Nothing I could say could more graphically demonstrate the contempt she has shown, and will continue to show again, for public service in general and...1984 July 31, Norman D’Amours, “Expressing the Sense of the House that It Disapproves the Appointment of Anne M[cGill] Burford”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 98th Congress...

   Synonyms:

   nothing sandwich, unthing, bagatelle, bag of shells, bric-a-brac, dicky, dicky-bird, fico, fig, flamfew

   Antonyms:

   somethingburger

3. (informal) A matter of no concern, especially one that had been of concern; a non-issue.
   • The forecasted megastorm turned out to be a huge nothingburger.

See all 4 meanings of nothingburger