tempest in a teacup/ teapot. Hot Air Balloons festivals

Culture and Lifestyle

Andrew Jogi for The New York Times

Why Just Watch Hot Air Balloons When You Can Chase Them?

Millions of visitors flock to about 200 balloon festivals across the U.S. each year. But some travelers want to do more than just watch.

The congestion is because of a surge in oil imports from a group of privately owned refiners—dubbed “teapots” because of their small size compared with giant state-owned companies, such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, PetroChina Co., and China National Offshore Oil Corp.—that is shaking up China’s oil industry and stoking global markets.


storm in a teacup
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.

‧茶杯裏的風波