🗓️ Idiom: A Bull in a China Shop (noun phrase)
💬 Meaning
- Someone who acts carelessly or too forcefully in a sensitive or stressful situation.
- A person who causes problems by not staying calm or thinking carefully.
🧠 Example Sentences
- When he gets stressed, he can act like a bull in a china shop and upset his colleagues.
- She felt like a bull in a china shop when she tried to handle the team’s conflict too quickly.
- During tense meetings, it’s important not to be a bull in a china shop — stay calm and think first.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the image of a large bull walking into a delicate shop full of china dishes — likely to break everything. It first appeared in the 1800s and has since been used to describe people who behave too roughly or without care in sensitive or stressful situations.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
When you’re under pressure, try not to act like ________ and upset others.
Answer
a bull in a china shop
2. Choose the correct answer:
What does “a bull in a china shop” mean?
a) Someone who handles stress calmly
b) Someone who acts roughly or without care
c) Someone who avoids problems completely
Answer
b) Someone who acts roughly or without care
3. Change the sentence using “a bull in a china shop”:
“He reacted too strongly during the argument and made the situation worse.”
Answer
He acted like a bull in a china shop during the argument and made the situation worse.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
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👉 Stress Management Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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