Don’t start causing a storm in a teacup.If one is in a business meeting, presenting a paper, or pitching a plan of some sort, it’s likely going to come across as unprofessional if used. Like most idioms and proverbs, this one is likely not appropriate for more academic or serious conversations. Despite this, with context, it’s still quite easy to put into practice. Speakers should keep in mind that because of the fact that it has largely fallen out of use, there are some people who aren’t going to understand what it’s referring to. It’s a lesser-known idiom than some of the more popular examples (see below), but it can still be quite effective. It could be used among friends, family members, or even close colleagues. It’s possible to use “a storm in a teacup” in a number of different situations. They involve glasses of water, ladles, teacups, and more. There are numerous other versions of this phrase in different languages. The British English version, “a storm in a teacup,’ was first recorded in 1838 in Catherine Sinclair’s Modern Accomplishments. They might start out with different words arranged in a different order and then become solidified as they’re used in everyday speech. It was later used in examples in the 3rd century with the use of the words “tempest” and “saucepan.” In print, it also appeared in 1815 when then Lord Chancellor Thurlow was quoted saying that an uprising on the Isle of Man was a “tempest in a teapot.”Īs is common with these phrases, they tend to evolve over time. He references it as “the saying,” suggesting that he knew it and others were already aware of it before he used it in this piece. It’s clear that even at this time, in the first century BC, this phrase was commonly used. He wrote, “Excitabat enim fluctus in simpulo ut dicitur Gratidius,” in English this reads:įor Gratidius raised a tempest in a ladle, as the saying is. The phrase “a storm in a teacup” is thought to have originated, in its first form, around the time of Cicero’s De Legibus. For example, if someone overreacts to a small event, they might be or cause a “storm in a teapot.” The “storm” is a metaphor for the chaotic and dramatic action, and the “teapot” is the broader situation that doesn’t warrant the storm.
The phrase is commonly used when someone wants to describe something that drew way too much focus and took more energy than it should’ve. It has been blown out of proportion with reality.
The idiom “a storm in a teacup,” or “a tempest in a teacup,” as is more common in American English, refers to an event that’s been exaggerated.
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