a thing

a thing

1. A complicated situation; something that causes a dispute. A: "Ugh, I forgot to invite Penny to the party, and now it's a whole thing." B: "Oh man. Is she mad at you?" Please tell me this isn't going to be a thing between us. Can we just forget about it?
2. A popular, significant, or well-known entity or person. "Elizabethtown" came out in the early 2000s, back when Orlando Bloom was a thing.
3. A romantic couple. Are Jack and Anna a thing again? I thought they broke up.
4. A phenomenon that is (at least somewhat) widely recognized or practiced. Yep, mom jeans are a thing now in the fashion world. Is stealthing really a thing? Wow, modern society is truly awful.
See also: thing

a whole thing

A complicated situation; something that causes a dispute. A: "Ugh, I forgot to invite Penny to the party, and now it's a whole thing." B: "Oh man. Is she mad at you?" Please tell me this isn't going to be a whole thing between us. Can we just forget about it?
See also: thing, whole
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

thing

n. one’s interest; one’s bag. This isn’t exactly my thing, but I’ll give it a try.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • a whole thing
  • back at it
  • back at it (again)
  • can't (do something) to save (one's) life
  • can't do something to save your life
  • be on (one's) back
  • be on somebody's back
  • be on someone's back
  • back onto
  • back onto (something)
References in periodicals archive
D) don't tell Danielle a thing. She has no business being all up in your BFF'S, um, business.
Psst ... can you keep a secret? Are you the girl your buds come running to for a good gossip fix? Or do you keep those lips zipped when it comes to other people's biz?
A wrote, "Devoid of passion, either for a thing, a person, or an idea, incapable or unwilling to reveal himself under any circumstances, he [A's father] had managed to keep himself at a distance from life, to avoid immersion in the quick of things.
The Auster instance: a ficto-biography
Old anxiety-producing (to say the least) patterns are a thing of the past, and you're about to settle into a new-and-improved groove.
GL's astronomical astrological 2004 cast: want the scoop on boys, buds, grades and fam for the upcoming year? Search no more.... We've got your 2004-and-411!