An awkward person who actually does not care about the delicate situation, a rough person who comes near the brittle things, an insensitive person who makes people angry with his/her deeds and words to create disturbance in their work or plans

Etymology:

  • This expression was first used by Aesop, the famous earliest teller of tales. He wrote a story about a donkey in a potter’s shop. Late in 16th century, when the china plates and dishes were introduced in Europe, people started using this expression ‘bull in a china shop’. However, the reason behind changing the subject ‘donkey’ into ‘bull’ could be the size of bull that is bigger than donkey because it can create mass disturbance.
29 Views

Inviting Andre in your ice sculpture exhibition is like letting bull in a china shop.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Translation

Find a translation for the Bull in a China Shop phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Bull in a China Shop

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Bull in a China Shop phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Bull in a China Shop definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Bull in a China Shop." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/bull-in-a-china-shop_44518>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    A watched _____ never boils.
    A kettle
    B turkey
    C pan
    D pot