tea trolley
1
3.7
- noun
- /ti ˈtrɑːli/
- UK
:
carrito de té
- A stylish tea trolley decorated with flowers was the centerpiece of the afternoon gathering.
Examples
-
Elinor felt her heart beat dully as Lorna came in with the tea trolley to serve refreshments.
-
I'll get the special tea trolley.
-
Elinor felt her heart beat dully as Lorna came in with the tea trolley.
Fiction book (1999) -
She pushed the tea trolley into the living room, ready to serve guests biscuits and tea.
Synonyms
8
1.0
A cart on wheels used for carrying shopping or luggage
1
2.7
A small cart on wheels for serving tea, coffee, or light food
A small cart on wheels used to serve tea and light food
A small table on wheels for serving tea and light food
A small table with wheels for carrying and serving food and drinks
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a small wheeled cart used for serving tea' is directly composed from 'tea' (the beverage) + 'trolley' (a small wheeled cart); the noun–noun combination denotes a trolley for tea. This straightforward compositional pattern is common across languages and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Tea trolley comes from the simple image of a small wheeled cart used to carry tea and cakes around a house. Because the cart was pushed to 'serve' guests, the phrase now means that small cart used for offering tea or light snacks.