to cause something simple to seem much more difficult or important.

McAleer knows there's a mistake in the book and promised to correct it, but Rosen continues to complain about it — she's really trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Clever lawyers can make a molehill into a mountain.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form make a molehill out of a mountain - to cause something difficult to be much easier:

By dividing up a big assignment and working on it a little bit every day, you can make a molehill out of a mountain.

Related vocabulary: make a production out of something, blow something out of all proportion

• tell its own tale
• tell it to the marines.
• tell me about it
• Tell me about it!
• Tell me another !
• Tell me another one!
• tell off
• tell off someone
• tell on
• tell on someone
• tell someone apart
• tell someone where to get off
• tell something apart
• tell-tale
• tell tales
• tell that to the marines.
• tell time
• tell where to get off
• tell you what
• tempers fray
• tempest in a teapot
• tempt fate
• tempt providence
• ten to the dozen
• test the water