bull in a china shop

Idioms and Phrases

An extremely clumsy person, as in Her living room, with its delicate furniture and knickknacks, made him feel like a bull in a china shop . The precise origin for this term has been lost; it was first recorded in Frederick Marryat's novel, Jacob Faithful (1834).

Example Sentences

“He’s a bull in a China shop,” McCoy said.

From Los Angeles Times

One longtime NFL figure familiar with Bieniemy, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said he came across “like a bull in a china shop; he’s almost honest to a fault, too.”

From Los Angeles Times

Germany’s unpopular government came in for lampooning, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz portrayed as a sloth and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock as an elephant in a porcelain shop, the German equivalent of a bull in a china shop.

From Seattle Times

Ms Shelley described him as "like a bull in a china shop - once he gets moving, nothing's going to stop him".

From BBC

As for pushing back on Trump, Welker pushed back as much as she realistically could, given that Trump is like a bull in a China shop who barely gives an interviewer any space to step in and seriously engage him.

From Salon