[tee-kuhp] 
| 1. | a cup in which tea is served, usually of small or moderate size. |
| 2. | a teacupful. |
| 3. | tempest in a teacup or teapot, a disturbance or uproar about little or nothing: The fight over who should become the next assistant treasurer of the organization is just a tempest in a teacup. |
| tem·pest (těm'pĭst) n.
To cause a tempest around or in. [Middle English, from Old French tempeste, from Vulgar Latin *tempesta, variant of Latin tempestās, from tempus, time.] |
tempest in a teapot
Also, tempest in a teacup. A great disturbance or uproar over a matter of little or no importance. For example, All that because a handful of the thousand invited guests didn't show up? What a tempest in a teapot! This expression has appeared in slightly different forms for more than 300 years. Among the variations are storm in a cream bowl, tempest in a glass of water, and storm in a hand-wash basin. The British prefer storm in a teacup. The current American forms were first recorded in 1854. For a synonym, see much ado about nothing.
