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federal case

noun

Etymology

In the United States of America, courts with federal jurisdiction generally are for much more serious offenses than those whose cases are heard by local courts.

Definitions

  1. An exaggerated ordeal

    An exaggerated ordeal; excessive fuss or indignation about some situation.

    • So I didn't put the toilet seat down — you don't have to make a federal case out of it.
    • You think I'm some kind of codependent ditz overwhelmed by reality outside of Catholic school, and I'm not supposed to make a federal case out of it?

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically

    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see federal, case.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for federal case. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA