cup of tea

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A cup filled with tea to drink, or the amount of tea in it.

   Grammar: It has a plural: two cups of tea. Only cup takes the plural.

   Patterns

   • make someone a cup of tea
   • have a cup of tea

   Would you like a cup of tea while you wait?

   She made him a cup of tea and sat down beside him.

   I always have a cup of tea before I start work.

2. 2phraseidiominformalfigurative

   Something a person likes or is good at; usually used in the negative to say that something is not to your taste.

   Grammar: Usually after a possessive and with not: Horror films are not my cup of tea.

   Patterns

   • not someone's cup of tea
   • be someone's cup of tea

   Camping in the rain is not really my cup of tea.

   I think this kind of music is more your cup of tea than mine.

   Public speaking has never been my cup of tea.

Word forms

Common combinations

make a cup of tea

I will make a cup of tea for everyone.

a nice cup of tea

After the long journey, all she wanted was a nice cup of tea.

not my cup of tea

Spicy food is just not my cup of tea.

just your cup of tea

The quiet village is just your cup of tea.

have a cup of tea

Let us have a cup of tea and talk about it.

Synonyms and how they differ

to my taste

This is a formal, plain way to say you like something, while cup of tea is a casual idiom normally used negatively.

my thing

This is slang for something you enjoy and can be used positively, which cup of tea rarely is.

up my street

This is a British idiom for something that suits you, and is used in positive sentences more freely than cup of tea.

brew

This is an informal British word for a hot drink of tea, while cup of tea is the neutral phrase.

Word family

tea noun

a hot drink made from leaves

teacup noun

a small cup for tea

teapot noun

a pot for making and pouring tea

teabag noun

a small bag of tea leaves

Commonly confused: cup of tea or cup of coffee?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “cup of tea”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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