![]() These are exchanges of opinion about the idiom 'a storm in a teacup' between an American scholar living in Detroit and some people living in Europe. Since I had never heard the expression said that way outside an ESL context, I assumed it was one of these simplifications. Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski’s lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. Sometimes people and publishers do simplify the English language for that purpose. With "storm" it sounds to me like someone trying to simplify the real expression for ESL learners. They have also stopped using the participle "gotten" and stopped using "fall" to mean "autumn", both of which came from Britain also, so it's not unusual that they would lose an expression like that. This has to be one of those British expressions that the British have stopped using but that remain in the US and Canada. The word "tempest" is so archaic that it's doubtful that the expression "tempest in a teapot" originated in America. This is fixed as "throw the book at someone". You can't really say that someone will "throw their book at someone". You can see that the alliteration is important in this expression. Czerski provides the tools to alter the way we see everything around us by linking ordinary objects and occurrences, like popcorn popping, coffee stains, and fridge magnets, to big ideas like climate change, the energy crisis, or innovative medical testing. ![]() I have never heard anyone say "a storm in a teacup". Storm in a Teacup is Helen Czerski’s lively, entertaining, and richly informed introduction to the world of physics. What would you say to the following comments? ![]()
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