APAD: A bull in a china shop

本帖于 2026-03-12 06:41:16 时间, 由普通用户 最西边的岛上 编辑

"A bull in a china shop" is  an idiom describing  someone who breaks things, makes mistakes, or causes damage in situations that require careful thinking or behavior.  It refers to someone who acts insensitively or aggressively, often making a bad situation worse.

Imagine a bull sauntering down the row of a china shop: he barely fits into the aisle, and with every step plates and dishes crash to the floor. Oblivious to the destruction left in his wake, he looks around to see what all the commotion is about, and as he does so, his swinging head takes out another row of china. Priceless, irreparable damage in the span of minutes.

- From online with editing
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Saw this idiom last night while watching "Pine Gap", an Australian TV drama and thriller series about the Australian and United States joint defence intelligence facility at Pine Gap, south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Australia.

Never been a spy nor a "bull in a china shop" myself (hope this is true as I might not be objective enough in self-judgment 微笑),  but I can understand and feel empathy to some characters in the show.

Then when I searched for the news usage of the idiom (btw, there are plenty) this morning, I found a true funny story with the title of "Bull in a china shop? No, it's an elephant in a grocery store", on NBC News.

Here is the link of the story with a short video for a good laugh 鬼脸

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/bull-china-shop-no-elephant-grocery-store


Have a nice Thursday!

 

所有跟帖: 

The world is a china store... ... -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 07:03:23

Wow, so true!!! Never thought in this way before, honestly. -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 07:10:01

Think about it, there're quite a few big bulls. No wonder -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 07:12:04

there's never peace in the world ... sigh ... ... -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 07:13:05

毛病都是惯出来的。BULLY凭着胳膊粗拳头大耍横 -永远老李- 给 永远老李 发送悄悄话 (69 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:01:20

True. Also looking back in history, UK + Europe suffered -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:10:20

greatly during WWII. US became superpower as it didn’t -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:13:57

suffer as much, IMHO. -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:14:56

子曰:ten years on the eastern bank of the River -永远老李- 给 永远老李 发送悄悄话 (111 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 13:03:07

Agreed! 善有善报恶有恶报,One gets what one sows. 对人对国家都是类似吧。谢老李。 -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 14:48:11

Haha,elephants are sacred and thus spoiled in Thailand:) -暖冬cool夏- 给 暖冬cool夏 发送悄悄话 暖冬cool夏 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:21:09

:-) A giant visitor w/ very good appetite & sweet tooth: -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:28:52

9 bags of sweet rice crackers & some! Oh boy! ~~~ -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:29:57

Bulls and china everywhere. Been that way since day 1. -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 09:51:04

I was wondering what U'd say:-) U & 移花 r true "great minds -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 10:11:27

think alike", while me seeing only the small china shop :-)) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 03/12/2026 postreply 10:13:34

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