chocolate teapot
1
8.8
- noun
- UK
:
cosa inútil
- Her suggestion to improve efficiency was nothing more than a chocolate teapot, offering no real value.
Examples
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Trying to use that old computer for modern gaming is like using a chocolate teapot to brew coffee.
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CLYDE: Useless as a chocolate teapot.
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That plan is just a chocolate teapot; it won't help us achieve our goals at all.
Synonyms
Completely useless in real situations
A thing that has no practical use
Something of very little or no value
An odd gadget that seems useless and hard to understand
Antonyms
How Useful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The image of a teapot made from chocolate strongly suggests impracticality (it would melt or crumble), so the meaning ‘utterly useless or impractical’ is motivated and can be inferred from the constituents. However, this requires world knowledge and a metaphorical inference rather than straightforward compositional rules, so a B1 learner may need that imaginative leap rather than deriving the sense immediately.
Etymology
Chocolate teapot comes from the clear image of a teapot made of chocolate that would melt when you poured hot water. That's why people call something a chocolate teapot when it is 'useless' and cannot do its job.