You may have heard the expression “like a bull in a china shop.” But what does this mean? And where does this saying come from? We’ll answer these questions in this post.
To understand this expression, it’s useful to first consider the word “china.” In this case, we’re talking about dinnerware, not the People’s Republic of China—although there is a connection between the two.
Pottery includes articles such as dinnerware that are made from clay and fired at high temperatures. Porcelain is a particular type of pottery that uses different raw materials, glazes, and temperatures. Porcelain has a tougher texture than most pottery, although you wouldn’t want to drop it on your tile floor! Porcelain is more transparent and has a finer luster. Because porcelain originated in China, people historically referred to it as “china.” To this day, the term still refers to porcelain dinnerware.
A “china shop,” therefore, is a fragile place—one that requires a bit of awareness. So, to be “like a bull in a china shop” means:
- to fail to show sensitivity in a situation that requires it
- to be clumsy or aggressive in a delicate situation
- to do damage in a social or physical sense due to ignorance or callousness
The phrase first appeared in 1834, in Frederick Marryat’s novel Jacob Faithful. It may have been used before that, since Aesop’s (620-564 BCE) writings include a similar metaphor: an ass in a potter’s shop.
If you use this phrase in your writing, you’ll want to lowercase the word “china” because it is a common noun. You’d capitalize the word when referring to the country of China, as that is a proper noun. For example:
The three-year-old boy was like a bull in a china shop, running and playing wildly among the rows of antique furniture.
Relations between China and Australia have deteriorated in recent years.
Now that you’ve reviewed the meaning, history, and use of the phrase “like a bull in a china shop,” hopefully you’ll find an opportunity to work it into a sentence soon.
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