Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hanygeorge38]

Dear Bud,

I was reading in the Cobuild book of idiom and i came across
the idiom (making a meal out of somthing) i understad the meaning
but i had difficulty in understanding what is meant by (a four course
one) in the example used to make the meaning more clearer.


'he is making a meal out of this' she said'a four course one' to say
the least you had better have a word with him.



Thanks in advance Bud

Hany
_________________
hany

[bud]

Hey Hany,

A four course meal (or seven course, or whatever) is a very fancy meal - not your everyday dinner. Each course is a separate mini-event where the dishes are cleared before the next course is served. For example, you might start with an appetizer, then salad is next, then a pasta course, then the main part of the meal (the entree), then dessert, then coffee and brandy, or some other combination.

[Connie2]

But that is nothing to do with making a meal out of something.

[bud]

True, but he said he understood the meaning of that expression.

[Connie2]

Yes. but do you?

The guy was making a meal of it, not only that but a a four course meal of it. This has It has nothing to do with a four course meal.

You have not explained the difference between making a meal of it and making a four course meal of it.

[bud]

Connie, I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with the expression itself. It sounds as if it means to be overdoing something (making a mountain out of a molehill), but that is only my guess. But despite the fact that I don't know exactly what it means, the four-course meal comment is definitely a way to emphasize that he is very much making a meal out of it. He's not just making an ordinary meal out of it, he is making a very fancy meal out of it.

Anyone know what it means exactly?

[toe]

I never heard it, either! Either he is, as bud says, making a big deal about something, or perhaps really relishing some circumstance/situation at the expense of another person?

I'm very interested in the answer (and the region and era of the expression as well).

Very thought-provoking!

toe