nothingburger
noun
a thing that is less consequential or important than originally suspected
What does nothingburger mean?
A nothingburger is a thing that is less consequential or important than originally suspected. The word can also describe a person or thing of little importance. It can also be spelled nothing burger.
Examples of nothingburger
When the provincial government introduced a bill recently to speed up new housing construction by lowering fees for developers, I immediately called Ottawa housing expert Carolyn Whitzman, author of the fantastic book Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisis, to see what she thought. AÂ nothingburger, she said, as we chatted by phone Tuesday morning, each watching our own TV to see who would be appointed federal housing minister.
— Brigitte Pellerin, St. Thomas Times-Journal (Ont. Can.), 23 May 2025Is a revolution coming to your iPhone apps, or a nothingburger?
— The Washington Post (online), 8 May 2025When they met in April 2023, business was not booming for Mr. Kuo. In fact, SomeFriends, the media company he founded with Kareem Rahma, was "floundering," he said. "SubwayTakes," a show they created together, hosted by Mr. Rahma, was a "nothing burger" with only a few episodes at the time.
— Sadiba Hasan, The New York Times, 25 May 2025
Where does nothingburger come from?
The word has been in use since the 1950s, and first appears in the columns of Louella Parsons, a well-known gossip writer in the mid-20th century.
Granger will live in Europe until the 18-months period is up, and Sam either wants him or doesn’t want him. After all, if it hadn’t been for Sam Goldwyn, Farley Granger might very well be a nothingburger.
— Louella O. Parsons, Bergen Evening Record, 1 Jun. 1953
How is nothingburger used?
Nothingburger tends to be used dismissively, and in casual writing. It is not yet, and likely never will be, a technical term.
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