Dictionary

bull in a china shop en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, informal) A person who is clumsy, aggressive, without care, concern or self-control.
   • I think all Americans are uncomfortable in Paris, to some degree. We’re all bulls in a china shop here …. This is a culture that’s about civility. 2020 October 2, Emily Zemler, quoting Darren Star, “‘What would Carrie [Bradshaw] do?’ How ‘Sex and the City’ lives on in Netflix’s new comedy”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2020:
   • The allegations also add to Mr. [Brian] Murphy’s reputation. “Could he be a bit of a bull in a china shop? Absolutely,” said Kerry Sleeper, a former assistant director of the F.B.I. [Federal Bureau of Investigation] who once supervised Mr. Murphy. “But also that’s a person that allows change to happen.” 2020 September 11, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Adam Goldman, “Whistle-Blower’s Complaint Ignites a Smoldering Homeland Security Agency”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Sep 2020:
   • The various plotters and counterplotters go their devious ways, proceeding with all the subtlety of bulls in china shops, but we never do learn what the plot is all about. 1933 January 29, “My Lady Dangerous. By Sydney Horler. […]”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2025:

Forms

Deriveds

bull-in-a-china-shop · like a bull in a china shop