Tea and sympathy

While this phrase isn't used specifically in the show, the scene after Leonard and Sheldon leave Penny's Halloween party could certainly be described this way. It's a particularly sweet moment, as Sheldon tries awkwardly to comfort Leonard, who has been embarrassed at the party by Kurt. Sheldon bring Leonard a cup of tea, pats his shoulder, and says "There there". He then asks Leonard if he wants to talk about it, but Leonard says no. Sheldon is relieved because, as he puts it, "'There there' was really all I had ..."

The phrase means caring behaviour towards a troubled person. It comes from the title of Robert Anderson's 1953 play "about the problems faced by a sensitive teenage schoolboy accused of homosexuality. The 'tea and sympathy' in question is provided by the housemaster's wife. A film version followed in 1956." [1]