all the tea in China

English

Etymology

Because of the large amount of tea in China, and its value.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

all the tea in China (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, hyperbolic) Something very valuable or priceless.

   I wouldn't trade you away for all the tea in China.

   • 1986, William Shatner, Catherine Hicks, 1:07:18 from the start, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home‎^[1], Paramount Pictures, →OCLC:

     KIRK: Ha, ha, ha. Okay, the truth. I am from what, on your calendar, would be the late twenty-third century. I've come back in time to bring two humpback whales with me in an attempt to repopulate the species.
     GILLIAN: Well, why didn't you just say so? I mean, why all the coy disguises?
     KIRK: You want the details?
     GILLIAN: Oh! I wouldn't miss this for all the tea in China.

Synonyms

• all the gold in Fort Knox
• all the money in the world

Translations

something priceless or invaluable

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: za nic na světě (literally “for nothing in the world”)
• Dutch: voor niks ter wereld
• Finnish: kaikki maailman rikkaudet
• French: (all the gold in the world) tout l’or du monde (fr), pour rien au monde (fr)
• German: alles in der Welt, alle Reichtümer dieser Erde
• Greek: όλο το χρυσάφι του κόσμου (ólo to chrysáfi tou kósmou)
• Hungarian: a világ minden kincséért (FOR all the tea…; it's not commonly used otherwise)
• Italian: tutto l'oro del mondo
• Polish: za Chiny ludowe (pl), za Chiny (pl), za chińskiego boga (pl), za żadne skarby świata (pl), za żadne skarby (pl), za skarby świata (pl), za nic na świecie (pl), za żadną cenę (pl), za żadne pieniądze (pl)
• Portuguese: todo o ouro do mundo m
• Russian: ни за каки́е коври́жки (ru) (ni za kakíje kovrížki) (only in negative)
• Spanish: todo el oro en el mundo
• Swedish: inte för allt smör i Småland (only in negative)
• Walloon: gade d’ ôr (wa) f

See also

• price of tea in China