a storm in a teacup

【字面理解】茶杯里的风暴

【英文解析】a small or unimportant problem which is treated as much more serious than it really is

【中文解析】杯水风波;小题大做;大惊小怪

【典型例句】① The people next door are continually quarreling, but it is usually a storm in a teaaq).隔壁的人总是不断争 吵,但经常都是小題大做。

② Don’t worry. It’s a storm in a teacup. Everyone will have forgotten about it by tomorrow.别担心，这不过是茶杯 里掀风浪，到明天大家就都把这事给忘了。

【注释】出自法国哲学家和思想家孟德斯鸠(Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu)的名言。有一次，他 听说圣马力诺(San Marino)发生了政治动乱，就用 “茶杯里的风暴”来评论这件事。因为圣马力诺是欧洲最小的共和国，只有一万人口，孟德斯鸠认为那里 的动乱对整个欧洲局势无足轻重[u。变体：a tempest in a teapot or barrel; a teapot tempest; a storm in a cream-bowl; a storm in a wash-hand basin。