兴师动众
xīng shī dòng zhòng
to make a big production of something
Character by character
兴xīng
raise
raise
师shī
army
army
动dòng
move
move
众zhòng
masses
masses
Example
就是个小生日，不用这么兴师动众。
It's only a little birthday; no need for such a big fuss.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
兴 is xīng (raise). Usually 不必/何必兴师动众.
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