E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Scandal-broth.
Tea. The reference is to the gossip held by some of the womenkind over their “cups which cheer but not inebriate.” Also called “Chatter-broth.”
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“‘I proposed to my venerated visitor, to summon my … housekeeper … with the tea-equipage; but he rejected my proposal with disdain… .’ ‘No scandal-broth,’ he exclaimed, ‘No unidea’d woman’s chatter for me.’”—Sir W. Scott: Peveril of the Peak (Prefatory letter).
