Dictionary

make a meal of en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To spend more time and energy on some task than it warrants; to make something overly complicated; to make a big thing out of.
   • Ford's character is a bit one-note, and his gravelly intonation suggests a drunken poet more than a respected newsman, yet he makes a meal of the role all the same, and his pronunciation of the word "frittata" may well be the film's high point. 2010 November 3, Andrew Barker, “Morning Glory (review)”, in Variety:
   • They both looked good – I would have been happy with either version. There was no point in making a meal of the decision, so I just picked up the one which was nearest to me on the desk and said, ‘We’ll go with this one.’ a. 2004, Kate Williams, Using Information for Decision Making, Second edition, Elsevier, published 2004, →ISBN, page 53:
   • page 131: And if he preferred Viva, fine. She wasn't going to make a meal of it or even give them the satisfaction of a scene. page 524: Make it quick and painless, she'd told herself, don't make a meal of it. 2008, Julia Gregson, East of the Sun, Simon and Schuster, published 2009, →ISBN:
   • Some people can make a meal out of the simplest task. If you give it to a busy person, they don’t have time to muck around on the edges and worry about it — they’ll just do it. 1997, Alison Aprhys, Careers in Publishing and Bookselling: How to Get the Job You Want, Hale & Iremonger, →ISBN, page 191:
2. To eat something as a meal.
   • Don't walk near the tiger: it'll make a meal of you.

Forms

Translations (16)

pl jeść (eat something as a meal) · cmn 用餐 (eat something as a meal) · fi nauttia ateriaksi (eat something as a meal) · fi pakertaa (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · pl zjeść (eat something as a meal) · fr avaler tout rond (eat something as a meal) · cmn 小题大作 (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · pl tracić czas na (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · cmn 杀鸡用牛刀 (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · fr faire tout un plat de (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · fr manger tout cru (eat something as a meal) · fi pipertää (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · pl stracić czas na (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · fr faire un plat de (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant) · fr ne faire qu'une bouchée (eat something as a meal) · fi nysvätä (spend more time and energy on some task than it warrant)