What Does The Phrase There Is An Elephant In The Room Mean

The concept was amusing enough to a few authors of that century that they frequently made references to krylov when mocking a character with poor perception although they never really mentioned that the elephant was in a room.

What does the phrase there is an elephant in the room mean.

One of the popular uses was a simile in the new york times. Financing schools has become a problem about equal to having an elephant in the. We re all avoiding the elephant in the room is an expression used to acknowledge that there is a serious issue or problem that is being ignored in the discussion usually a discussion that involves problem solving or decision making. If you say there is an elephant in the room you mean that there is an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.

The statement might be made by a person who feels responsible for getting to the real issue. Put another way it is a noticeable issue that is not acknowledged or addressed. What s the origin of the phrase the elephant in the room. The first reference to the phrase that i have found is in the charleston gazette july 1952.

Jim arrived at work and his clothes were soaking wet. The meaning if not the exact wording dates from at least the 1950s and is possibly some years older than that. The elephant in the room also elephant in the living room elephant in the corner elephant on the dinner table elephant in the kitchen etc is an english idiom for an obvious truth that is. The expression is of us origin although the precise source isn t known.

If there is an elephant in the room it means that an obvious problem is being ignored. It is based on the idea thought that something as conspicuous as an. Elephant in the room an obvious truth or fact especially one regarded as embarrassing or undesirable that is being intentionally ignored or left unaddressed.