teapot

Utterly useless (because pouring boiling water into a chocolate teapot would melt it). That umbrella is stuck inside out, so it's about as useful as a chocolate teapot right now.

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. (A less common variant of "a tempest in a teacup/teapot.") If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a storm in a teapot that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a storm in a teapot over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car!

A disproportionate reaction of anger, concern, or displeasure over some minor or trivial matter. If you ask me, these protests are nothing but a tempest in a teapot that's been stoked by a media campaign of misinformation. I really think you're making a tempest in a teapot over this. It's just a tiny scratch on the car!

To resume drinking alcohol after a time of sobriety. The "teapot" here is likely a reference to the term "teetotaler"—one who does not drink alcohol. A: "But Paul's been sober for years. Has he really smashed the teapot?" B: "Yes! I saw him drunkenly stumbling out of the pub last night."

an argument or disagreement over a very minor matter. The entire issue of who was to present the report was just a tempest in a teapot. The argument at the office turned into a tempest in a teacup. No one really cared about the outcome.

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.

If you describe a situation or an argument as a tempest in a teapot, you mean that people are very angry or upset about it, but it is not really important and will soon be over. He said that the argument over the painting was a tempest in a teapot. He believed that the agency's clash with the company was, in effect, a tempest in a teapot and that they would take appropriate action to calm the agency. Note: The usual British expression is a storm in a teacup.

A storm over a trifle; much ado about nothing. This expression has appeared in slightly varying forms for hundreds of years—a storm in a cream bowl (1678 letter from the duke of Ormond to the earl of Arlington), a tempest in a glass of water (the grand duke Paul of Russia, ca. 1790), a storm in a hand-wash basin (Lord Thurlow, ca. 1830), and, throughout much of the nineteenth century, a storm in a teacup (still preferred in Britain). In the twentieth century it changed to its present form, at least in America.