like a bull in a china shop

English

Adjective

like a bull in a china shop

1. (simile) Clumsy, aggressive, without care or concern, without self-control.
   • 1855, Robert De Valcourt, The illustrated manners book: a manual of good behavior and polite^[1], page 89:

     An awkward man in society is like a bull in a china shop, always doing mischief.

Translations

clumsy, aggressive

• Finnish: kuin norsu posliinikaupassa (fi)
• French: comme un éléphant dans un magasin de porcelaine (fr)
• German: wie ein Elefant im Porzellanladen (de)
• Portuguese: como um elefante em uma loja de louças (pt)

• Russian: как слон в посудной лавке (ru) (kak slon v posúdnoj lávke)
• Swedish: smidig som en elefant i en porslinsbutik (sv)

Adverb

like a bull in a china shop

1. (simile) Clumsily, aggressively, without care or concern, without self-control.
   • 1869, Every Saturday: a journal of choice reading^[2], page 108:

     Some comparisons in general use partake of the humorous and satirical, as when one man is said to comport himself "like a bull in a china shop".

Translations

clumsily, aggressively

• Finnish: kuin norsu posliinikaupassa (fi)
• French: comme un éléphant dans en magasin de porcelaine (fr)
• Polish: jak słoń w składzie porcelany (pl)
• Portuguese: como um elefante numa loja de cristais (pt)

• Russian: как слон в посудной лавке (ru) (kak slon v posúdnoj lávke)
• Spanish: como un elefante en cristalería (es), como un chivo en cristalería (es)