federal case
noun
a matter that falls within the jurisdiction of a federal court or a federal law-enforcement agency.
Idioms for federal case
make a federal case (out) of, Informal.
to exaggerate the importance of or make an issue out of (something trivial).
Origin of federal case
First recorded in 1950–55
Words nearby federal case
Idioms and Phrases with make a federal case of
make a federal case of
Also, make a big deal of. Give undue importance to an issue, as in I'll pay you back next week—you needn't make a federal case of it, or Jack is making a big deal of filling out his passport application. The first hyperbolic expression, almost always used in a negative context, alludes to taking a legal action before a high (federal) court. The second alludes to an important business transaction (see big deal, def. 1).