to-do en · NOUN
Etymology
From to + do, formed on analogy with ado. Compare affair.
Meanings
-
A fuss made over something.
Last year, Russell Brand caused another to-do. This time he wasn’t playing nasty jokes on Andrew Sachs, or boasting about the millions of people he’d slept with; he wasn’t calling George Bush a “retard”, or giving a Nazi salute at the GQ awards, or turning up to work dressed as Osama bin Laden […] No, this time he simply made a political statement.
2014 October 11, Simon Hattenstone, “Russell Brand: ‘I want to address the alienation and despair’”, in The Guardian:Just because the city's throwing you this big to-do, don't think you're something special. You've done absolutely nothing to deserve this.
2012 April 28, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, “The Voice in the Night” (14:46 from the start), in Joaquim Dos Santos, Ki Hyun Ryu, directors, The Legend of Korra, season 1, episode 4, spoken by Lin Beifong (Mindy Sterling):I was embarrassed that they made such a big to-do out of my birthday.
-
A task that has been noted as one that must be completed, especially on a list.
I have so many to-dos, I don't know where to start.
My to-do list has been growing longer every day.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| todo | alternative | lexicographic | |
| to-dos | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
ado · furor · argy-bargy · hubbub · clamour · fracas · unrest · stir · turmoil · shemozzle · tumult · quarrel · hoo-ha · kerfuffle · ruckus · bangarang · hoo-hah · hurly-burly · palaver · commotion · chaos · bunfight · flutter · disruption · flap · disturbance · hullabaloo · fuss · foofaraw · merry hell · pandemonium · mayhem · tomfoolery · bobbery · to-do · splatterdash · bust-up · ferment · rumpus · uproar · clatter · riot · shindy · three-ring circus · stooshie · pother · fuss · ado · trouble · hobbleshaw · bustle · outcry · upstir · rowdydow · bustle · brouhaha
Translations (14)
fi häly (fuss — see also fuss) · nb huskeliste (task) · fi tehtävä (task) · es pendientes (task) · lt sąmyšis (fuss — see also fuss) · nn hugseliste (task) · bg врява (fuss — see also fuss) · es encargos (task) · fi älämölö (fuss — see also fuss) · bg задача (task) · es quehacer (task) · fr à faire (task) · nb gjøremål (task) · nn gjeremål (task)