Bull in a China Shop

13 March 2009

in Quotations, Red Herrings

An recent article declares: “Winston Churchill once described American diplomacy as  ‘a bull who carries his own china shop around with him.’” Is this an accurate quote, and if so, in relation too what? —L.K., Texas

The expression is frequently repeated, but in regard to Eisenhower’s Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, not American diplomacy. But it does not track in scans of Churchill’s 15 million published words (books, articles, speeches, papers), or 35 million about him. The phrase “china shop” comes up 22 times, virtually all of them remarks by others about Churchill….

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