Tea Slang…Funny Tea Terms

Posted by Dani Noto on

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I wanted to have some fun today with funny uses of the word TEA. We all know or think we know what the word "tea" means, but there are some hilarious other uses for this word. So, grab a cup of your favorite brew and enjoy...

According to the Urban Dictionary, the slang term "Tea" comes from "the custom in the South of women who gather in the afternoon to drink tea and gossip."

"T" or "Tea" is slang for gossiping about a situation, story, news, or some juicy information. You can give tea, get tea, or spill tea.

So here's my take on things before knowing this.

Instead of saying, "What is the new drama today?" you can simply say, "Girlfriend, what's the tea?" Of course, in my world, I would answer, "I'm drinking Earl Grey Creme de la Creme."

If you see a friend and it looks like something is bothering them, you can say, "What's your tea?" This shows you're concerned about them and are interested in hearing the details. In my world, I would think I was being asked, "What's your favorite tea."

Suppose you want to talk about someone or a situation and make sure the person you are speaking with knows you are not gossiping in any way. In that case, you can say "no tea" either before or after your statement. "I saw Krista with Becky in town, no tea." My take would be Krista and Becky weren't drinking tea.

Here are some other fun tea things.

Rosie Lee' is a cockney rhyming slang that tea is called because it rhymes with cup-of-tea. Can you picture yourself saying, "Can I have a Rosie Lee, please?" And you've gotta add the accent to carry it off.

"Can you fill the Billy, please?" Australian translation, "Can you fill the teapot please?"

Brew is the Northern England way to call tea. An example would be: "Dani, please make a special brew for Bea, please."

Cha is another UK term for tea. "I'm a huge Cha fan." I can see that morphing into the word Chai. And yes, I'm a huge Masala Chai, Vanilla Chai, Coconut Vanilla Chai, and Chai Rooibos fan.

How about "geometry is not my Cup of Tea." In other words, geometry isn't something I enjoy. And really, how often do we really use geometry in our daily lives? My husband says more than you think, but then he's a math teacher.

Another British slang term is "Cuppa," which is short for a cup of tea. Ok, add your British accent and say it with me, "Can I please have a Breakfast Cuppa to go with my scone."

"Good as a chocolate teacup" means something is useless. Think of a chocolate teacup and how it would melt if you poured hot water into it. Unfortunately, I may need to swipe this one, so I can speak in code when something's bothering me. You know my secret now, so please don't tell on me if you hear me say, "What a chocolate teacup." It'll be our secret!

I'm sure some of you have heard, "Not for all the tea in China." My example of this would be I'd never own an arachnid for all the tea in China. Yep, I'm horribly afraid of spiders, and no one can ever convince me that a spider is a good pet.

"Spill the Tea on Josie." In other words, dish all the juicy gossip about her.

Storm in a Teacup is another British expression that means making something bigger than it should be. An example would be, "Alice, you just broke a fingernail. It's nothing but a storm in a teacup."

It's a Tea Party. Well, sometimes, it really is just a tea party, but it can also mean that something is easy. Example: "I baked that loaf of bread, and it was pretty much a tea party."

Whitener is Canadian slang for adding cream or milk to tea. Example: "What kind of whitener would you like in your tea?"

Now you're up to date on "Tea Slang."

So sip some tea with your friends and try not to spill.


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