ˈtea-ˌkettle
A kettle in which water is boiled for making tea. Phr. ass (= arse) over tea-kettle, head over heels (cf. arse over tip s.v. arse n. 1 b). U.S. slang.
| 1705 Lond. Gaz. No. 4063/4 A Tea Kettle, a gilt Tea-Pot. a 1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 397 He that snatches up the copper handle of a tea kettle, and burns his fingers. 1865 Times 23 Aug., Wiesbaden..is as close and hot in the summer as a steaming tea-kettle. |
| transf. 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. iv. (ed. 3) 18 There was a great demand in Australia for small river steamers... The difficulty, however, was to get such fragile tea-kettles across the ocean. |
| attrib. 1746 Miles in Phil. Trans. XLIV. 55 The Spirits were such as we use for the Tea-kettle Lamp. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vi, Crimson silk tea-kettle holders. 1896 Peterson Mag. Jan. 63/2 Martha dropped the tea-kettle cover with a bang. |
| phr. 1963 T. Pynchon V. i. 23 Fast enough..only to send Profane, garbage can and lettuce leaves flying ass over teakettle in a great green shower. 1977 J. Crosby Company of Friends vii. 51 Sascha's horse..stopped short... Sascha went ass over teakettle into the brambles. |