not my cup of tea
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A phrase meaning, it does not suit me, this is not the sort of thing I want.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
This is not my cup of tea. It's Tom's cup.Đây không phải cốc trà của tôi. Nó là cốc của Tôm.
This is not my cup of tea.Đây không phải cốc trà của tôi.
Tatoeba sentence #3836067 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “not my cup of tea” mean?
A phrase meaning, it does not suit me, this is not the sort of thing I want.
Is “not my cup of tea” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.