# What does ‘a storm in a teacup’ mean?

To “a storm in a teacup” means to a big fuss over a small matter. Brewer's records this English phrase, the American form being 'a tempest in a teapot'; the imagery is at least 18th-century, and analogues go back to classical writers.

## What it means

- Brewer's records this English phrase, the American form being 'a tempest in a teapot'; the imagery is at least 18th-century, and analogues go back to classical writers.

## Action steps

1. Common in dismissing overblown drama.
2. Example: The scandal was a storm in a teacup.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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