Cup of Tea
Have you ever heard such phrases "John is not my cup of tea" or "It`s not really my cup of tea"? This is a very widely used idiom.
Идиома: (not) one's cup of tea
Перевод: (не) то, что нравится, (не) быть по вкусу
"One`s cup of tea" is just one of the many tea-related phrases that are still in common use in the UK, such as "not for all the tea in China", "I could murder a cup of tea", "more tea vicar?", "tea and sympathy", "storm in a teacup" and so on.
In the early 20th century, a "cup of tea" was such a synonym for acceptability that it became the name given to a favoured friend, especially one with a boisterous, life-enhancing nature.
People or things with which one felt an affinity began to be called "my cup of tea" in the 1930s.
"I'm not at all sure I wouldn't rather marry Aunt Loudie. She's even more my cup of tea in many ways." Nancy Mitford
These days the expression is more often used in the "not my cup of tea" form. This negative usage began in WWII (World War II). An early example of it is found in Hal Boyle's Leaves From a War Correspondent's Notebook column, which described English life and manners for an American audience. The column provided the American counterpart to Alister Cooke's Letter from America and was syndicated in various US papers. In 1944, he wrote:
[In England] You don't say someone gives you a pain in the neck. You just remark "He's not my cup of tea."
The change from the earlier positive "my cup of tea" phrase, to the dismissive "not my cup of tea" doesn't reflect the national taste for the drink itself. Tea remains everybody`s cup of tea in the UK.
You can't be everybody's cup of tea Some like it bitter, some like it sweet Nobody's everybody's favorite So you might as well just make it how you please
Kacey Musgraves
It`s funny, but the English are so fond of tea that even "orgasm" in slang is called "cup of tea".
