bull in a china shop

bull in a china shop (plural bulls in a china shop or bulls in china shops)

1. (idiomatic) A person who is clumsy, aggressive, without care, concern or self-control.
   • 1933 January 29, “My Lady Dangerous. By Sydney Horler. […]”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 October 2025:

     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.

   • 2020 September 11, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Adam Goldman, “Whistle-Blower’s Complaint Ignites a Smoldering Homeland Security Agency”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 September 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 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^[3], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2 October 2020:

     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.