cup of joe

C

cup of joe
also cup o’ joe or cuppa joe

Meaning

• a cup of coffee

Example Sentences

1. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is make myself a cup of joe.
2. I am going to the coffee shop for a cup of joe.
3. Nothing energizes me more than a cup of joe in the morning.
4. That long meeting has given me a bad headache. What I really need now is a strong cup of joe.
5. I can’t really think straight in the morning until I have had my first cup of joe.
6. We’ve been travelling for quite some time. Let’s stop somewhere for a cup of joe.
7. Where can I get a good cup of joe around here?
8. I am going for a cup of joe; anyone interested?

Origin

The expression originated in the USA; however, why coffee is referred to as “joe” is unclear, though there are a number of interesting theories. One theory is that when the US Navy Secretary, Josephus Daniels, banned alcohol on ships in 1914, the sailors drank coffee instead and grudgingly referred to it as a cup of joe.

Another theory is that the term is a short form of “jamoke”, which itself is a combination of Java and Mocha – the two types of coffee.

A third theory says that joe is used as in “average Joe’, that is, a common man. Hence a cup of joe is a common man’s drink.

Yet another theory says that during World War I, US soldiers were served instant coffee made by G. Washington Coffee Refining Company and referred to it as a cup of George, later shortened to cup of Geo, which would then be corrupted to cup of joe.

Drink