Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1tx8eu5/tifu_at_33_i_just_realized_the_phrase_in_bull_in/

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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/puzzled-bets on 2026-06-05 02:41:25+00:00.

I just realized after listening to a podcast and the phrase was used that I realized, the phrase is “bull in a china shop,” not **“**bull in a china shop.”

For as long as I can remember, I thought the phrase was referring to a “regular bowl” in a fancy china shop. In my head, it meant something or someone that didn’t quite fit in or out of place. Like, a plain bowl surrounded by expensive china seemed out of place, so the it made total sense to me and I never questioned interpretation.

Turns out it’s bull, not bowl. As in a giant bull crashing through a store full of breakable dishes.

Nobody has ever corrected me and I use the phrase in the “bowl” context numerous times a month.

TL;DR: I’ve been very wrong for decades and question my understanding of the English language.