tempest in a teapot

English

Etymology

Attested since 1838. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

tempest in a teapot (plural tempests in teapots)

(idiomatic) A major fuss over a trivial matter.
The media frenzy over the actor's drunken behavior was a tempest in a teapot.

Usage notes

This is by far the most common of the various forms of the idiom in the US, and the most common form overall.

Synonyms

much ado about nothing
storm in a teacup (British), and its variants storm in a tea-kettle, storm in a glass of water, and storm in a teapot
tempest in a teacup, tempest in a tea-kettle

Translations

big fuss made in a small context

Arabic:
South Levantine Arabic: زوبعة في فنجان (zōbaʕa fi finjān, literally “storm in a cup”)
Bengali: চায়ের কাপে ঝড় (caẏer kape jhoṛ)
Catalan: tempesta en un vas d'aigua (literally "storm in a glass of water")
Chinese:
Mandarin: 小題大做／小题大做 (zh) (xiǎotídàzuò)
Czech: bouře ve sklenici vody (cs) f
Danish: storm i et glas vand c (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Dutch: storm in een glas water m
Estonian: torm veeklaasis (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Finnish: myrsky vesilasissa
French: tempête dans un verre d’eau (fr) f (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
German: Sturm im Wasserglas (de) m (literally “storm in a water glass”)
Hungarian: vihar egy pohár vízben (hu) (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Icelandic: veður út af engu, ys og þys út af engu
Italian: tempesta in un bicchiere d'acqua (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Japanese: コップの中の嵐 (koppu no naka no arashi)
Korean: 찻잔 속의 폭풍 (chatjan sogui pokpung)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: storm i et vannglass (literally “storm in a glass of water”)

Nynorsk: storm i eit vassglas (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Polish: burza w szklance wody (pl) f
Portuguese: tempestade em copo d’água (pt) f (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Romanian: furtună într-un pahar de apă, furtună-n pahar de apă (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Russian: бу́ря в стака́не воды́ (ru) f (búrja v stakáne vodý, literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Spanish: tormenta en un vaso de agua (literally “storm in a glass of water”)
Swedish: storm i ett vattenglas (sv) (literally “storm in a water glass”)
Telugu: టీకప్పులో తుపాను (ṭīkappulō tupānu)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: incir çekirdeğini doldurmaz (literally “does not fill a fig seed”)
Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
Yiddish: אַ שטורעם אין אַ גלאָז וואַסער (a shturem in a gloz vaser)

References

tempest in a teacup in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
"storm in a teacup," Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster (2002).

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