Idiom – The Elephant In The Room

The Elephant In The Room – Idiom of the Day

Meaning:

An obvious, huge issue that is being avoided and not talked about

History: 

This idiom is an American phrase that has murky origins. The very first reference is dated to 1935 that meant something incongruous and obvious. Later, in the 1950s, the current meaning of the idiom was originated, which is something huge that is generally ignored as it seems quite uncomfortable to be dealt with. One of the interesting examples of this idiom took place in the Broadway musical, Jumbo in 1935. At that time, Jimmy Durante was stopped by police when he was paving way for a real elephant toward the stage. When the cop asked what he was doing with the elephant, Jimmy responded by saying “What elephant?” Probably, this scene would have helped form the idea to ignore the elephant in the room. There is another fable that was written in the early 1800s. Apparently, a man visited a museum. There, he noticed all the small things but the huge elephant in the room. This fable is known as The Inquisitive Man, which has been referenced by several famous writers.

Synonyms:

• Thorn in my side
• Bitter Pill
• Heavy cross to bear
• Heavy cross to bear
• Bull in a china shop
• Written all over your face

Examples:

Go through the examples to understand the usage of the idiom:

1. Can we address the elephant in the room before it ends our relationship?
2. There is an elephant in the room that you simply choose to ignore.
3. “For you, ignoring the elephant in the room is pointless.”
4. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”
5. Rising inflation is the elephant in the room.