He’s like a kid in a china shop

I heard this one from a neighbor.  She was talking about her husband’s love of gadgets, and that he recently received a new tool that he was crazy about.  This is an incongruent conflation of “like a kid in a candy shop” (so excited about something that they behave in a child-like way) and “like a bull in a china shop” (clumsily destructive).  The mixup derives from the similar sounding words “china” and “candy”, the word “shop” used in both phrases, and that the two phrases are equal in words and structure (“like a blank in a blank shop”).

 

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2 Comments on “He’s like a kid in a china shop”

  1. Brian Wood says:

    Hello!!

    I saw Elaine’s picture on the NA magazine that came in the mail!

    Please congratulate her on her work.

    Best regards-

    Ann Wood

    Sent from my iPhone


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