mucho ruido y pocas nueces

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “much noise and few nuts”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˌmut͡ʃo ˌrwido i ˌpokas ˈnweθes/ [ˌmu.t͡ʃo ˌrwi.ð̞o i ˌpo.kaz ˈnwe.θes]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /ˌmut͡ʃo ˌrwido i ˌpokas ˈnweses/ [ˌmu.t͡ʃo ˌrwi.ð̞o i ˌpo.kaz ˈnwe.ses]
• Syllabification: mu‧cho rui‧do y po‧cas nue‧ces

Noun

mucho ruido y pocas nueces m (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) much ado about nothing; all bark and no bite, all talk and no action

   Synonym: ladra pero no muerde

Further reading

• “mucho ruido y pocas nueces”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10