the elephant in the room
/ði ˌelɪfənt ɪn ðə ˈruːm/INFORMAL · C1
Meaning
an obvious problem that everyone avoids discussing
Examples
- 1Nobody mentioned the missing savings, but they were the elephant in the room.
- 2At dinner, our unfinished argument was still the elephant in the room.
- 3The budget shortfall remained the elephant in the room; every speaker carefully avoided mentioning it.
- 4Everyone knew the roof leaked, yet at the residents' meeting it was the elephant in the room.
- 5Their cancelled wedding was the elephant in the room as the family chatted awkwardly about the weather.
Grammar
Keep the elephant in the room as one noun phrase. An elephant in the room is also used when introducing a problem.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about animals
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →an early birdsomeone who gets up or does things before othersa dark horsesomeone with unexpected talents or interests they rarely mentiona night owlsomeone who prefers staying awake and active latelet sleeping dogs lieto avoid reopening an old problema guinea pigsomeone used to test a new product or methodmonkey businessdishonest or unacceptable behaviour
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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