elephant in a china shop
1
7.8
- idiom
- Offensive
:
elefante en una cacharrería
- As the new intern, I felt like an elephant in a china shop on my first day at the art gallery.
Examples
-
He was like an elephant in a china shop during the meeting!
-
Her comments at the dinner party were like an elephant in a china shop, leaving everyone uncomfortable.
-
When asked to handle the negotiation, he acted like an elephant in a china shop and upset everyone involved.
-
Don't be such an elephant in a china shop at the party.
-
When he tried to give advice at the meeting, he was just like an elephant in a china shop.
-
Her comments during the delicate negotiation made her seem like an elephant in a china shop.
-
At the formal dinner, his loud laughter made him feel like an elephant in a china shop.
Synonyms
3
7.2
A clumsy or careless person who causes damage in delicate situations
Antonyms
How Clumsy
- Offensive
1
7.8
- Informal
3
7.2
- Offensive
22
8.2
- Informal
1
8.1
33
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
elephant + in + a + china + shop
The meaning is directly inferable from the literal parts: an 'elephant' (very large) placed 'in a china shop' (a place of fragile items) evokes someone likely to cause breakage, i.e. clumsy or tactless. This simple visual metaphor is common across languages and follows an obvious compositional logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely predict the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Elephant in a china shop gives a clear picture: a large elephant in a small china shop would easily break the fragile dishes. So it means 'a clumsy or insensitive person' who does not act carefully in a place that needs care.