tempest in a teapot



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.
See also: teapot, tempest

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
JohnathonJAHN-a-thanEnglish
Panfilo-Italian
SinÉAdshi-NAYDIrish
Nikolaj-Danish, Slovene
Valenciabah-LEN-thyah (Spanish), bah-LEN-syah (Latin American Spanish)Spanish
Christabellakris-tə-BEL-əEnglish (Rare)