nothing ado about much?

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Tom W.

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What would he/she mean if an English-speaking people says: it's nothing ado about much or it's nothing ado about nothing!

p.s.: we know that Sir. W. Shakespeare wrote: Much Ado About Nothing

With great thanks!
 

Raymott

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What would he/she mean if an English-speaking people says: it's nothing ado about much or it's nothing ado about nothing!

p.s.: we know that Sir. W. Shakespeare wrote: Much Ado About Nothing

With great thanks!
One can only guess. It's not an idiom, but obviously a corruption of one. So here's my guess.
Much ado about nothing means a storm in a tea-cup - a big fuss over something insignificant.

Nothing ado about much would therefore mean an insufficient response to an important issue.

Nothing ado about nothing would mean no response to something which requires no response anyway.

Much ado about much: You can guess this one!
 

Tom W.

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Well, very professional and interesting.
Thank you very much!:up::up:
 

mmasny

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Is nothing ado correct? You seem not to reject it, but it sounds wrong to me. Shouldn't it be no ado?
 

Raymott

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Is nothing ado correct? You seem not to reject it, but it sounds wrong to me. Shouldn't it be no ado?
Maybe. I have always conceived of this as having a verbal meaning, even though it's usually listed as a noun.
As a verb (see OED below):
A: What's ado? = What's up? What's afoot?
B: There's nothing ado.

OED

ado
1.
pres. inf. To do; in northern writers in all constructions; in others only after have, in phrase to have ado. (Cf. Fr. avoir affaire, orig. avoir à faire to have a-do, or to do.)

2. In doing, being done; at work, astir.
1577 FLEETWOOD in Ellis Orig. Lett. II. 202 III. 56 Upon Thursday there was nothing ado but preaching of Sermondes. 1628 EARLE Microcosm. xxvii. 58 Only an eager bustling, that rather keeps ado than does anything. 1634-46 J. ROW (father) Hist. Kirk (1842) 291 The tryell of presbyteries is the principall thing that is ado at this tyme. 1637 RUTHERFORD Lett. 97 (1862) I. 248 The remembrance..raised a great tempest & (if I may speak so) made the devil ado in my soul. 1698 J. NEWTON in Phil. Trans. XX. 263 How now, what is here ado?
 
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