tempest in a teapot

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tempest in a teapot

Is it just another tempest in a teapot?

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2024

So is all of this a, well, tempest in a teapot?

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

As far as controversy over the Goldwater rule, it’s a tempest in a teapot to me.

From The Verge ● Sep. 2, 2017

Facebook is entering week two of a controversy that is, depending on how you view it, either a tempest in a teapot or a tempest in the world’s largest teapot.

From Slate ● May 17, 2016

The fight waxed furious, no tempest in a teapot ever equalled the storm of that miniature sea. 

From A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries And of the Discovery of Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864 by Livingstone, David