Cow idioms

Here is a list of idioms using the words cow and bull.

As awkward as a cow on roller skates

When you are as awkward as a cow on roller skates, you look very awkward.

• The girl looked as awkward as a cow on roller skates while giving a speech in front of her teachers and classmates.

A bull in a china shop

This expression is used to refer to a person who is very clumsy or careless or who lacks tact.

• Martha is like a bull in a china shop. You can’t expect her to properly deal with a delicate situation like this.
• My boy is a like a bull in a china shop. He breaks at least two glasses a week.

A cash cow

A cash cow is a hugely profitable product or service.

• Her family treated her as a cash cow.

Have a cow

When you have a cow you become very angry or upset.

• My brother had a cow when I told him that I had crashed his car.

Hit the bull’s-eye

To hit the bull’s-eye is to reach the main point of something.

• The Chief Justice hit the bull’s-eye when he said that greedy politicians were the bane of our society.

A sacred cow

A sacred cow is a person or thing that is never criticized.

Take the bull by the horns

To take the bull by the horns is to act decisively.

• James was always coming home late. At last Maria decided to take the bull by the horns and asked him what he was up to.

Until the cows come home

Until very late

• We worked in the yard until the cows came home.