nothingburger
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈnʌθɪŋbəːɡə/
ipa: /ˈnʌθɪŋˌbəɹɡəɹ/
Forms: form: nothingburgers
form: nothing-burger
form: nothing burger
Etymology: The noun is derived from nothing (pronoun, noun) + -burger (suffix forming names of hamburgers served in buns with the addition of specified foodstuffs, or with foodstuffs in place of the usual meat), a metaphorical reference to a burger missing a patty—its most significant component. The word was apparently coined by the American gossip columnist Louella Parsons (1881–1972) in her widely syndicated daily column “Louella’s Move-Go-’Round” of June 1, 1953: see the quotation.
The adjective is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: After all, if it hadn’t been for Sam[uel] Goldwyn Farley [Granger] might very well be a nothingburger. However, I have a hunch this whole arrangement is on a friendly basis.
ref: 1953 June 1, Louella O[ettinger] Parsons, “Farley Granger Wins His Release—at Last: But Sam Goldwyn Retains an Option to Sign Star again in 18 Months”, in San Francisco Examiner, volume CLXXXXVII, number 152, San Francisco, Calif.: Hearst Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 33, column 2:
text: I've had two fantastic mothers—one a hero who flew planes—and I turned out to be just a big nothingburger with no courage at all.
ref: 2014, Fannie Flagg, “Sookie has the Blues”, in The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, London: Vintage Books, published 2015, →ISBN, page 278:
synonyms: word: absolute zero
word: also-ran
word: chopped liver
word: cipher
word: crumb
word: Joe Nobody
word: little guy
word: minnow
word: nebbish
word: nobody
word: no one
word: nothing
word: nothingburger
word: nonentity
word: picayune
word: pip-squeak
word: pleb
word: peon
word: prole
word: puny
word: quidam
word: rinky-dink
word: shrimp
word: wankstain
word: zero
word: zilch
antonyms: word: worthless person
word: little guy
word: nonentity
word: peasant
word: peon
word: pleb
word: plebe
word: prole
word: shrimp
glosses: An unimportant person; a nobody, a nonentity.
examples: text: She [Anne Gorsuch Burford] calls NACOA [the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere] a "joke" and a "nothingburger," whatever that is. Nothing I could say could more graphically demonstrate the contempt she has shown, and will continue to show again, for public service in general and for environmental protection in particular.
ref: 1984 July 31, Norman D’Amours, “Expressing the Sense of the House that It Disapproves the Appointment of Anne M[cGill] Burford”, in Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 98th Congress, Second Session (United States House of Representatives), volume 130, part 16, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 21664, column 1:
text: Except for Easter, isn't March kind of a nothingburger (unless your birthday is in it!) month? Shall we try to make it memorable?
ref: 1991, Helen Gurley Brown, Cosmopolitan, volume 210, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2:
text: Browner admitted that the new policies would have no impact […] Kaufman […] called Browner's announcement "a nothingburger."
ref: 1993, Appalachian Journal, volume 21, Boone, N.C.: Appalachian State University, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 104:
text: That's how ugly she was—ugly by virtue of the fact that she was unmemorable, a slab of alabaster awaiting a sculptor who never arrived, a "nothing burger" if there ever was one.
ref: 2000 September, Lucinda Rosenfeld, “Jason Barry Gold, or ‘The Varsity Lacrosse Stud’”, in What She Saw […], New York, N.Y.: Anchor Books, Random House, published September 2001, →ISBN, page 60:
text: [A]s Lee Gomes of The Wall Street Journal noted in a great column last week, the announcement was "a model for how well-known companies can make a major media event out of a nothingburger."
ref: 2005 October 17, Don Tennant, “Just Wondering”, in Don Tennant, editor, Computerworld: The Voice of IT Management, volume 39, number 42, Framingham, Mass.: Computerworld, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 26, column 1:
text: This 2005 Donald Trump tax return is a total nothingburger [title]
ref: 2017 March 14, Chris Cillizza, “This 2005 Donald Trump tax return is a total nothingburger”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2022:
text: The two shake hands and Jones is asked: "What do you think is going to happen this week with the whole Russia thing?" Jones responds: "The Russia thing is just a big nothing burger."
ref: 2017 June 28, Greg Price, quoting Van Jones, “CNN's Van Jones Calls Trump-Russia Story ‘Nothing Burger,’ Newest Project Veritas Video Shows”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Sep 2023:
text: If the [Donald] Trump Jr. meeting was a "nothingburger" because President [Donald] Trump didn't know about it, then a future revelation that Trump did know about Russia collusion might force his defenders to admit he did something wrong. If the Trump Jr. meeting was a "nothingburger" because it didn't lead anywhere, then a future revelation that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government in a more substantive, sustained way would be hard to dismiss.
ref: 2017 July 12, Peter Beinart, “How to Know Who will Let Trump Get Away with Anything”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Jun 2023:
synonyms: word: nothing sandwich
word: unthing
word: bagatelle
word: bag of shells
word: bric-a-brac
word: dicky
word: dicky-bird
word: fico
word: fig
word: flyspeck
word: minuity
word: niff-naff
word: picayune
word: scuddick
word: sop
word: toy
word: trick
word: trifle
word: triviality
word: whiffle
word: white chip
antonyms: somethingburger
glosses: Something of less importance than its treatment suggests; also, something which is bland or unremarkable in appearance or impact.
examples: text: The forecasted megastorm turned out to be a huge nothingburger.
text: The cheating accusations were false all along. A total nothingburger.
glosses: A matter of no concern, especially one that had been of concern; A non-issue.
Derived terms: somethingburger
Related terms: shit sandwich
where's the beef