teacup

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a storm in a teacup that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a storm in a teacup over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car! A: "Does anyone know why Al's so upset?" B: "Oh, it's just the usual storm in a teacup—someone ate his leftovers again."

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a tempest in a teacup that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a tempest in a teacup over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car! A: "Does anyone know why Al's so upset?" B: "Oh, it's just the usual storm in a teacup—someone ate his leftovers again."

an argument or disagreement over a very minor matter. The entire issue of who was to present the report was just a tempest in a teapot. The argument at the office turned into a tempest in a teacup. No one really cared about the outcome.

Also, tempest in a teacup. A great disturbance or uproar over a matter of little or no importance. For example, All that because a handful of the thousand invited guests didn't show up? What a tempest in a teapot! This expression has appeared in slightly different forms for more than 300 years. Among the variations are storm in a cream bowl, tempest in a glass of water, and storm in a hand-wash basin. The British prefer storm in a teacup. The current American forms were first recorded in 1854. For a synonym, see much ado about nothing.

If you say that a situation is a storm in a teacup, you mean people are very upset or annoyed about something that is not at all important and will soon be forgotten. Parnell said that he thought the whole matter a storm in a teacup, and that it would pass quickly. Note: The usual American expression is a tempest in a teapot.