aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen
to make a mountain out of a molehill; to greatly exaggerate something trivial
Origin
Dates back to Greek antiquity (attested in the satirist Lucian of Samosata) and was Latinised by Erasmus of Rotterdam ('Elephantum ex musca facis'). The huge size difference between gnat and elephant illustrates the exaggeration.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Simple past 'musste' (had to, from müssen)Präteritum 'musste' (müssen)
- Simple past 'wollte' (wanted to, from wollen)Präteritum 'wollte' (wollen)
- Simple past 'durfte' (was allowed to, from dürfen)Präteritum 'durfte' (dürfen)
- Simple past 'sollte' (was supposed to, from sollen)Präteritum 'sollte' (sollen)
Examples
Reg dich nicht so auf, du machst aus einer einen Elefanten.
Don't get so worked up, you're making a mountain out of a molehill again.