Nothingburger
Nothingburger, sometimes spelled as nothing-burger or nothing burger, is a term used to describe a situation that receives a lot of attention, but which, upon closer examination, reveals to be of little to no real significance.
The phrase refers to the notion that a regular hamburger should have different flavorful ingredients, but if the meat were to be removed, all that would be left would be a "nothingburger", thus many ingredients might be on the outside, but upon further inspection on the inside, nothing remains.
History
[edit]The term "nothingburger" was first coined in the 1950s by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons,[1][2][3] and has a history of use in American political circles, especially within the Washington, D.C. beltway. The term reached its peak usage, especially among United States political circles in the late 2010s.[4] In 2017, United States Senator Ted Cruz used the word in response to questions around then–United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying: "The underlying meeting is a nothingburger. It's what senators do every day, meeting with foreign ambassadors. That's part of the job."[3] Later in the same year, Hillary Clinton called the investigation into her email server the "biggest nothing-burger ever",[5] and CNN commentator Van Jones described the allegations of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump as a "nothingburger" in a covertly recorded conversation.[6]
The Oxford English Dictionary was reported by the BBC to have added "nothingburger" as a valid word to its dictionary as recently as 2018. It defined the word thus: "Nothingburger is a way of describing someone or something seen to have little importance."[7] As of 2023[update], the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which focuses on American English usage, had not yet included nothingburger as a valid word to be defined in its dictionaries, but has a page dedicated to monitoring the word and is considering the word for inclusion potentially in the future.[8]
Spelling variations also exist, with no apparent consensus regarding spelling. All variants, including "Nothingburger", "Nothing burger", "no thing burger", or the hyphenated "Nothing-burger", have appeared in press and in social media usage by popular and political figures.[9]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Nothing Burger". Barry Popik. December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Pereira, Alyssa (July 12, 2017). "Where did the term 'nothing burger' actually originate?". SFGate. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Zimmer, Ben (March 9, 2017). "'Nothingburger': From 1950s Hollywood to the White House". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ Willingham, AJ (July 14, 2017). "'Nothing burger' is nothing new. It's been around for decades". CNN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Hillary Clinton Calls Email Scandal Fake News and 'Biggest Nothing Burger Ever'". Newsweek. May 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- ^ "Trump-Russia 'Nothing Burger" CNN's Jones Says in Video". Newsweek. June 28, 2017. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Fam and nothingburger added to Oxford English Dictionary". BBC News. October 5, 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Words We're Watching: 'Nothingburger'". Merriam-Webster. February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ Vejnoska, Jill (July 12, 2017). "What's a "Nothing Burger?" An official history of that suddenly popular (and annoying) phrase". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
