Meaning & use
cup of rosie
Last updated
Meanings
nounsingularBritishinformalslang
A rhyming-slang way of saying 'cup of tea', used in casual British speech.
Grammar: Countable in form but almost always used in the singular with 'a': a cup of rosie.
Patterns
- a cup of rosie
- fancy a cup of rosie?
He put the kettle on and asked if I wanted a cup of rosie.
We sat down with a cup of rosie and talked for an hour.
nounsingularBritishinformal
Any hot drink made by pouring boiling water over tea leaves or a tea bag.
Grammar: Same meaning as 'cup of tea'; the slang form adds a joking, friendly tone.
Patterns
- make a cup of rosie
- have a cup of rosie
Make us a cup of rosie, love, while I finish this.
After the long walk, a cup of rosie was exactly what we needed.
Common combinations
- fancy a cup of rosie
- Fancy a cup of rosie before we go out?
- put the kettle on for a cup of rosie
- She put the kettle on for a cup of rosie.
- a nice cup of rosie
- Nothing beats a nice cup of rosie on a cold morning.
- sit down with a cup of rosie
- They sat down with a cup of rosie to catch up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cup of tea
- The standard, neutral phrase; use it in most situations, and keep 'cup of rosie' for relaxed British chat.
- cuppa
- Another informal British word for the same drink; it is far more common than 'cup of rosie' and not rhyming slang.
Word family
- rosie noun
- The slang word for 'tea' that rhymes with 'Rosie Lee', the base of this phrase.
Commonly confused: cup of rosie or Rosie?
cup of rosie vs Rosie
'Rosie' is a woman's first name; in this phrase it is only a rhyme for 'tea' and has nothing to do with a person.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cup of rosie' in the most natural way?
Choose one answer.
'Cup of rosie' is British rhyming slang for a cup of tea and is used in friendly, informal offers, so 'Fancy a cup of rosie while we wait?' fits. Option 3 confuses the drink with the cup itself, and option 4 sounds odd because the phrase is almost always singular and casual.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cup of rosie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.