Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill

Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill By Maeve Maddox One of our readers used this expression in a recent comment: make a mountain out of a mole hole I assumed that the writer had intended to write the common expression make a mountain out of a molehill. I was about to shrug it off as a typo and move on when I thought Id just Google the unfamiliar version. I found enough examples to indicate that the readers version is in fairly common use. I found the mole hole version in headlines, subject lines, comments and serious articles. Here are a few examples: The media paints the picture of a mountainous recession, but it may simply be a mole hole of slow growth that we must conquer. The Fed is creative and seemingly cogent enough to get the economy through its current stress. New N Economics However, Mr. Dubad gave us the impression that the sky is falling apart and a civil war is in the offing. He made a mountain out of mole hole. The Somaliland Times Think too hard and you’ll over think the problem. Consider the size of the problem too much and you’ll make a mountain out of a mole hole. Quest Venture Partners The English word mole has various meanings: 1. a spot on the skin 2. a burrowing animal 3. a wall or other barrier built in the sea to hold back water 4. a unit of molecular quantity 5. a spy (figurative use because, like a mole, a spy burrows in darkness) It is the second sense that gives us molehill. The word mole may come from mouldwarp, lit. earth-thrower. Moles tunnel beneath the earth. A surface opening to a tunnel is often marked by a little pile of earth, a molehill. A molehill is not very large, but it is shaped like a mountain. A person who makes a big fuss over a small matter is said to be making a mountain out of a molehill. Heres an example of the expression from over 400 years ago: To much amplifying thinges yt. be but small, makyng mountaines of Molehils. [John Foxe, Acts and Monuments, 1570] Its not clear to me why molehills should have morphed into mole holes. I can see an immediate connection between a molehill and a mountain, but not between a mole hole and a mountain. Wouldnt an exaggerated hole be more like a crater or a lake than a mountain? In researching the expression I came across numerous tourist retreats called The Mole Hole. Perhaps their existence has contributed to the shift. I know. Im just making a mountain of a mole-. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One Spelling15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsForming the Comparative of One-syllable Adjectives