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Original poster

How do you say "a cup of tea"?

100 replies

GRMUM · 02/03/2005 10:56

Hi, I am just writing my first assignment for my OU course.As an example of different ways of saying something I am using the phrase a cup of tea. So far I can think of :

A cup of tea
A cuppa tea
A cup of char
A quick brew

Anybody got any more? I am sure there must be other local ways of saying this. If you can also let me know the area its from that would be great! Thanks

OP posts:
suzywong · 02/03/2005 11:14

cup of Builder's: strong and white

expatinscotland · 02/03/2005 11:15

Cuppa, altho DH will ask if I fancy a 'cuppa char' or a 'cuppa coffee'.

Gobbledigook · 02/03/2005 11:17

Brew.
Cup of tea.
A cuppa.

Or 'I'll have a T please Bob' (from BLockbusters of course!).

Gobbledigook · 02/03/2005 11:18

Oh Seashells beat me to the Blockbusters one!

Fastasleep · 02/03/2005 11:19

'Wet yer taaaste buds wi' this luv!' where I come from lol

Peckarollover · 02/03/2005 11:22

Cuppa

Newcastle

northerner · 02/03/2005 11:25

'Fancy a brew'? or 'mek us a brew luv'

North east

Original poster
GRMUM · 02/03/2005 11:33

Wow thank you all so much! I can't believe so many of you have answered!! This is great.

The course I am doing is English Language, past present and future. The first assignment is on Standardization of English. I am hoping to show how many differences there still are in English.

I'd be interested to hear how its said in Cornwall,Wales,Lake District and also if there are any variations from different ethnic groups.

OP posts:
jampots · 02/03/2005 11:35

Being a brummie I was shocked to hear that people outside of Brum dont call off licences "out-doors" or traffic roundabouts "islands"

spacedonkey · 02/03/2005 11:36

i ended up on a wild goose chase around loughborough once because the woman giving me directions on the phone kept talking about "islands"! How was I to know she meant "roundabouts"?!

TheVillageIdiot · 02/03/2005 11:45

lol @ 'islands' I'm from Burton-on-trent originally and it's 'islands' there too, makes me smile everytime I hear it!

marialuisa · 02/03/2005 11:52

In South Wales I think it tends to be just "tea" or "a tea"; so "do you want tea?" "yes, I'll have a tea".

Don't think this is especially regional though.

Hulababy · 02/03/2005 12:09

"D'ya wanna drink?"
"D'ya wanna tea?"
"D'ya wanna cuppa tea?"

OR, if we have people round:

"Would you like/Do you want a cup of tea?"

Hulababy · 02/03/2005 12:09

I'm in Sheffield BTW; come from Doncaster.

advocateofthedevil · 02/03/2005 12:10

Tea?

Prettybird · 02/03/2005 12:21

I'd say "Do you want some tea?", or even just "Tea?". I'm in Scotland.

I don't know if it is relevant, but we always make it in a teapot rather than in mugs.

hamster · 02/03/2005 12:22

Have you thought of looking up cockney rhyming slang on the net GRMUM?

gingerbear · 02/03/2005 12:24

Cha is a chinese word.

never say that gingerbear is full of useful information

Azure · 02/03/2005 13:10

A nice cup of tea

Enid · 02/03/2005 13:14

Is the kettle broken? (to dh when he hasn't offered to make me a cup of tea)

usually say a cup of tea.

Original poster
GRMUM · 02/03/2005 13:18

Nice one Enid! I'll put that in when I do sociolinguistics!!

OP posts:
munnzieb · 02/03/2005 13:21

brew, or rosie lee. (we use those in the south, er, DH is northern and he says tea, fairly boring really!)

NomDePlume · 02/03/2005 13:22

I say 'cup of tea', will try to think of other terms....

Fimbo · 02/03/2005 13:23

Same as Prettybird (am Scottish as well). Heard someone in the park last summer ask their child if they wanted a "licky" waited with baited breath to see what a "licky" was turned out to be an ice-lolly!!

biglips · 02/03/2005 13:25

"do you wanna a cuppa?" to mates or DP, or guests "do you want a cup of tea?"