Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
#62090 03/24/02 06:04 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
K
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
K
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
I'm an Amazon. [an amaz-in' one]

Capitalized? Is that your titular designation?



#62091 03/25/02 01:48 AM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477
H
hev Offline
addict
Offline
addict
H
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477
Is the storm in a tea cup version standard Brit?

Woo hoo - it looks like no one else actually answered this bit so here's my take on it.

I don't know about Brit, but it is definitely standard Oz English to say it this way... in fact, I don't think I'd ever heard Tempest in a tea cup before now. It definitely sounds more melodramatic than a storm in same tea cup.

Hev

#62092 03/25/02 10:15 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Faldage Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Thank you, hev. You win a prize for being the first person to actually answer the question. But now I'm not sure I asked it right. I remember the difference being in the use of tea cup rather than the USn tea pot but the tempest part being the same. Are you saying that storm in a tea cup is standard in Oz?


#62093 03/25/02 10:33 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Dear Faldage,

Oh, you mean we're actually supposed to answer questions on this board?? Ah! I've been completely misled in my understanding of AWAD! I thought we were supposed to avoid answering questions on this board! Eureka! I see the light!

Back to the Mad Teaparty,
WordWoozy


#62094 03/25/02 02:42 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Oh, you mean we're actually supposed to answer questions on this board?? Ah! I've been completely misled in my understanding of AWAD!

well, if you've been following the example of Faldage....


#62095 03/25/02 04:28 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Storm in a teacup is definitely standard Britspeak. You could only conjure up a storm in a teapot if you left the lid off. As for a tempest in a teacup or pot...well I've never heard it used, but it seems to be an acceptable alternative and perhaps more poetic as well as being alliterative.


#62096 03/25/02 09:25 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477
H
hev Offline
addict
Offline
addict
H
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 477
Are you saying that storm in a tea cup is standard in Oz?

Oooh, ooh, more questions to answer! I guess I only win second prize this time around, because dxb responded for the Brit speakers. To answer your Oz related question... it's definitely a cup! We have storms in cups, not tempests in tea pots.

Hev

#62097 03/25/02 10:01 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
well, since this has become Much Ado about Nothing, ponder these weighty words:

Dorion, ridiculing the description of a tempest in the “Nautilus” of Timotheus, said that he had seen a more formidable storm in a boiling saucepan. -Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists

http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

#62098 03/25/02 10:14 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
people skilled in dinner conversation.

but I digress...

b. Phr. tea-pot tempest, tempest in a tea-pot (U.S.): = storm in a tea-cup
(see TEA-CUP 4). Also in similar phrases.

1854 ANDREWS Lat. Dict. s.v. Simpulum, Excitare fluctus in simpulo,..to raise a tempest in a teapot. Cic. Leg. 3. 16, 36. 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v. Tempest, A tempest in a tea-pot, a great disturbance over a small matter. 1896 Peterson Mag. Jan. 104/1 What a ridiculous tea-pot tempest! 1928 R. CAMPBELL Wayzgoose i. 16 Storms in a teapot often have occurred. 1942 T. DUBOIS Body goes round & Round xiii. 172 You have been indulging in your favourite occupation of stirring up a tempest in a teapot. 1973 Times 1 Aug. 6/5 Senator Ervin said the issue of whether the subpoenas were continuing was ‘a difference in a teapot’.


http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

#62099 03/25/02 10:19 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
an annual banquet or picnic held by employees of a printing establishment (Aug. 24)

[forgive my apocrisis]

Simpulum, Excitare fluctus in simpulo.

Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,330
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 937 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,541
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5