cupping

Everyday

1. (verb form) Holding your hands in a curved shape like a cup: «cupping water in her hands», «cupping his ear to hear». tree →
2. (noun) Cupping therapy: an old treatment in which cups are placed on the skin and the air in them is reduced so the skin is sucked up, leaving round marks; some people believe it helps aches, but there is little good scientific evidence for it. tree →
3. (noun) In the coffee and tea trade, cupping is a careful tasting of coffee by smelling and slurping it to judge its quality. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and stories, people cup their hands to drink from a stream, carry a baby bird, warm their hands or call out loudly. Swimmers at the Olympics have shown round cupping marks, which led to news stories; in science lessons this is a good example to ask «what is the evidence?». Phrases: «cupping your hands», «cupping your ear», «cupping therapy», «coffee cupping».

Examples

• She was cupping a tiny frog in her hands. tree →
• He shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. tree →
• Grandad was cupping his ear because he couldn't hear me. tree →
• The swimmer had round red marks on his back from cupping. tree →
• Scientists say there is not much evidence that cupping therapy works. tree →
• We drank from the stream by cupping the water in our hands. tree →
• At the coffee shop, the staff were cupping new beans to taste them. tree →

Note

Comes from the verb «cup» (cup, cups, cupped, cupping) with double p. «Cupping» is not about cups of tea in the everyday sense. When a health treatment is popular with famous people, that is not proof it works; look for fair tests.