make something of

make something of

1. To transform (an object or person) into something worthwhile.
   • 1849, Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, ch. 13:

     My thousand a year is not merely a matter of dirty bank-notes and jaundiced guineas. […] I was determined to make something of it better than a fine old house to live in, than satin gowns to wear.

   • 1922, P. G. Wodehouse, The Girl on the Boat, ch. 8:

     "A wife might make something of you."

   • 2011 November 22, Jeff Tully, "Oscar De La Hoya a hit at Boys & Girls Club," Los Angeles Times (retrieved 5 September 2018):

     "When you send that message and tell these kids that you can succeed and you can make something of your life, that’s a very important message."

2. To develop an understanding or interpretation of.
   • 1860, Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Professor at the Breakfast Table, ch. 8:

     No doubt your head aches, trying to make something of my description.

   • 1961 June 5, Chalmers M. Roberts, "Talks Fail to Evoke Any 'Spirit of Vienna'," Washington Post (retrieved 5 September 2018):

     They tried to make something of the communique's vague phrase about maintaining Soviet-American contacts and they implied that President Kennedy now had Premier Nikita Khrushchev's invitation to drop in at the Kremlin for a visit anytime he chooses.

3. To insist on or emphatically challenge (a point or topic, especially one which may be a subject of disagreement).
   • 1996 August 21, George Vecsey, "Does Reeves Entertain Death Wish?," New York Times (retrieved 5 September 2018):

     He's controversial. He's blunt. He could be a good New Yorker. That's my opinion. You wanna make something of it?

• make something of oneself