說到底，這是小事一樁。

After all，this is a tempest in a teapot.

請教譯文點評

My comments:

Tempest is the word for a storm of the most violent kind, with wild gusts of wind blowing off roofs, uprooting trees and whipping up huge waves in the sea, things of that nature.

The tea cup, holding a mere mouthful of water, isn’t big enough for stirring up a tempest in, obviously.

Hence, if you try to whip up a tempest in a teapot, you are, to use another cliché, trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

In other words, you’re making a fuss, taking issue with something so small that it, quite frankly, should be an issue at all.

Related stories:

Jump the gun

Juggle ideas

Coats off

Eye opener

A spent force

A fine kettle of fish

Call it even

Half girl, half woman

Mere trifle

Fixer

Head on a spike

Take something with a pinch of salt

A breath of fresh air

Have a crystal ball

A slap on the wrist

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.