the cylindrical walls effects a tight seal with the drinking portion 14 and the vessel portion 12 thereby preventing leakage of liquid around the flexible member 16 and outside the cup 10 irrespective of the manner in which the flexible member 16 is attached to the vessel and drinking portions the flexible member is preferably connected to the vessel and drinking portions proximate the gap 50 to limit the amount of liquid that contacts and may seep into the interface of the flexible member and the outer surfaces of the vessel and drinking portions the present invention is not limited to embodiments in which the flexible member 16 is stretched over the vessel portion 12 and the drinking portion 14 to define a gap however as the flexible member may be integrally formed with the vessel and drinking portions as is shown in fig5 in particular the flexible member 16 can be attached to the outer surface of the cylindrical wall 26 and the outer surface of the cylindrical wall 20 using heat welding ultrasonic welding an adhesive combinations of any of the foregoing and the like furthermore the flexible member 16 may be integral with the vessel and drinking portions e g directly molded as a unitary piece and formed of a material that is pleated or the like e g as in the material from which u201c flexible u201d drinking straws are made in any embodiment the cup 10 can be fabricated from materials that are non breakable and dishwasher safe although this invention has been shown and described with respect to the detailed embodiments thereof it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing.