Don't make a mountain out of a molehill
Meaning: Don't exaggerate small problems.
Origin: Nicholas Udall used it in 1548, in his English translation of Erasmus's paraphrase of the New Testament, speaking of those who make of a fly an elephant and of a molehill a mountain. The elephant-and-fly image came from ancient Greek; English kept the molehill.
Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, and German
- French: Ne fais pas d'une mouche un éléphant (literally: Don't make a fly into an elephant)
- Spanish: No hagas una montaña de un grano de arena (literally: Don't make a mountain from a grain of sand)
- Japanese: 針小棒大 (Shinshō bōdai) (literally: Making a needle into a stick)
- German: Aus einer Mücke einen Elefanten machen (literally: To make an elephant out of a gnat)
More proverbs about Wisdom
- The grass withers, the flower fades — All worldly things are temporary.
- First come, first served — Opportunities go to those who arrive early.
- A fool and his money are soon parted — Foolish people quickly lose their wealth.
- The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second best time is now — The right time to act is always now, no matter how late it feels.
- To know the road ahead, ask those coming back — Learn from people with experience before embarking on an unfamiliar path.
- The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists — Flexibility and adaptability are greater strengths than rigid resistance.
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