Are You a 'Bull in a China Shop'?
2023-04-23
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2Have you ever felt out of place?
3Have you ever felt clumsy, like you cannot move gracefully and smoothly?
4If you answered yes, then today's show is for you!
5Today we talk about what happens when a big animal runs loose in a small area.
6The expression is to be a bull in a china shop.
7China is fragile, meaning very easy to break.
8Imagine a large bull running loose in a china shop.
9All the fragile plates, bowls, and tea cups in the shop would be on the floor and broken in a million pieces.
10So, a bull in a china shop describes a person who is awkward and clumsy.
11Wherever they go, they create a mess.
12This can happen on purpose or on accident.
13If you are behaving wildly in a small space and are breaking things here and there, you are acting like a bull in a china shop.
14But maybe you don't mean to.
15Maybe you are just very big or your body movements are not very graceful.
16This expression can describe a person or a situation.
17For example, a fancy wedding is my bull in a china shop situation.
18I always end up knocking something over or saying the wrong thing.
19This expression is used in other ways.
20When a person feels out of place and deals too roughly with a delicate problem they can say they feel like a bull in a china shop.
21If you are this kind of person, you do not handle light situations well at all.
22For some reason and sometimes through no fault of your own ... you just make things worse.
23It can also mean you rush into a situation without thinking about it clearly.
24Acting like a bull in a china shop means recklessly attacking a problem without proper planning.
25So, when you act like a bull in a china shop, you create damage.
26You leave a big mess in your wake.
27This could be an actual mess or a figurative one.
28For example, if you are a bull in a china shop you may not be invited to a problem-solving meeting at work.
29You may bring a little too much mayhem with you.
30This expression can also mean you handle a delicate situation badly.
31You don't react calmly and carefully.
32Instead you add fuel to the fire.
33This means you make the situation worse.
34For example, when it comes to relationship issues, Diedre is like a bull in a china shop.
35She always ends up making more trouble.
36One time she tried to help a married couple who had been arguing a lot.
37After Deirdre's "help" the couple ended their marriage.
38It is widely believed that this expression came from real animals causing real damage at outdoor markets in the 1800s.
39Word expert say that many languages have a similar expression but maybe they use a different animal, for example an elephant.
40And elephant would also do a lot of damage in a china shop.
41And that's all the time for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ...
42I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2Have you ever felt out of place? Have you ever felt clumsy, like you cannot move gracefully and smoothly? If you answered yes, then today's show is for you! 3Today we talk about what happens when a big animal runs loose in a small area. The expression is to be a bull in a china shop. 4China is fragile, meaning very easy to break. Imagine a large bull running loose in a china shop. All the fragile plates, bowls, and tea cups in the shop would be on the floor and broken in a million pieces. 5So, a bull in a china shop describes a person who is awkward and clumsy. Wherever they go, they create a mess. 6This can happen on purpose or on accident. If you are behaving wildly in a small space and are breaking things here and there, you are acting like a bull in a china shop. But maybe you don't mean to. Maybe you are just very big or your body movements are not very graceful. 7This expression can describe a person or a situation. For example, a fancy wedding is my bull in a china shop situation. I always end up knocking something over or saying the wrong thing. 8This expression is used in other ways. 9When a person feels out of place and deals too roughly with a delicate problem they can say they feel like a bull in a china shop. 10If you are this kind of person, you do not handle light situations well at all. For some reason and sometimes through no fault of your own ... you just make things worse. 11It can also mean you rush into a situation without thinking about it clearly. Acting like a bull in a china shop means recklessly attacking a problem without proper planning. 12So, when you act like a bull in a china shop, you create damage. You leave a big mess in your wake. This could be an actual mess or a figurative one. For example, if you are a bull in a china shop you may not be invited to a problem-solving meeting at work. You may bring a little too much mayhem with you. 13This expression can also mean you handle a delicate situation badly. You don't react calmly and carefully. Instead you add fuel to the fire. This means you make the situation worse. 14For example, when it comes to relationship issues, Diedre is like a bull in a china shop. She always ends up making more trouble. One time she tried to help a married couple who had been arguing a lot. After Deirdre's "help" the couple ended their marriage. 15It is widely believed that this expression came from real animals causing real damage at outdoor markets in the 1800s. Word expert say that many languages have a similar expression but maybe they use a different animal, for example an elephant. And elephant would also do a lot of damage in a china shop. 16And that's all the time for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time ... 17I'm Anna Matteo. 18Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 19_________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21clumsy - adj. lacking skill or grace in movement 22gracefully - adv. displaying grace in form or action : pleasing or attractive in line, proportion, or movement 23fragile - adj. easily broken or destroyed 24awkward - adj. lacking skill and flexibility (as in the use of the hands) : not graceful : clumsy 25roughly - adv. in crude fashion 26delicate - adj. easily torn or damaged 27figurative - adj. characterized by figures of speech 28mayhem - n. needless or willful damage or violence 29_______________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 31We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.