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

The elephant in the room phrase.

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

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 being ignored for various reasons. Paddy didn t need pointing it out to know it was there and lindsay coates s column about haiti s lack of land rights. 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. Put another way it is a noticeable issue that is not acknowledged or addressed.

But if it embarrasses most people there it isn t going away until you. What does the elephant in the room expression mean. The expression elephant in the room usually the elephant in the room or the elephant in the living room is a metaphorical idiom in english for an important or enormous topic question or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable or is personally socially or politically. But it was like an elephant in the drawing room.

Expanding on the first answer. A considerable number of alterations exist for the phrase but the only other generally used one is the elephant in the living room some people enjoy using different large animals in place of elephant to convey the message. The elephant in the room is a problem that everyone knows is there but no one wants to acknowledge. Definitions by the largest idiom dictionary.

An elephant in the room definition. The velociraptor in the room the whale in the room whales can t breathe air of course and so on. By painting the elephant in the same bold pattern as the room s wallpaper banksy emphasized the phrase s meaning by both making the elephant even more obvious and by giving those who chose to ignore it like the woman in the tableau an opportunity to pretend that it had blended into the wallpaper background. If there is an elephant in the room it means that an obvious problem is being ignored.

If you say there is an elephant in the room you mean that there is an obvious problem or. The elephant in the room refers to a large issue of some kind which makes everyone uncomfortable. A white elephant is a troublesome or costly possession that s hard to get rid of. The elephant in the room.

If the issue terrifies people they will talk.