cup of coffee

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The situation where a minor league player comes up to the major league team for a short period of time.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

I was up for a cup of coffee once; those were the best six days of my career.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “cup of coffee” mean?

The situation where a minor league player comes up to the major league team for a short period of time.

Is “cup of coffee” formal or informal?

cup of coffee is generally slang.