tea leaf

British  

noun

1. the dried leaf of the tea shrub, used to make tea

2. (usually plural) shredded parts of these leaves, esp after infusion

3. slang a thief

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Etymology

Origin of tea leaf

sense 3 rhyming slang

Example Sentences

"It's about the momentum as you get into that last leg and you see how the tea leaves are falling," Ritman says.

From BBC

He drank mine, then three cups more, then ate the tea leaves.

From Literature

In contrast, the ouster of Zhang unfolded so quickly that outside observers had few tea leaves to read before Beijing confirmed his fate.

From The Wall Street Journal

“If I were Paramount ... I would view this as a tea leaf that there might be a little bit of an opening here, to the extent we were to be aggressive,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Executives were also trying to read the tea leaves and figure out why some leaders in Davos weren’t there.

From The Wall Street Journal