the elephant in the room

Idiomatic Expressions

Meaning

An obvious major problem that everyone avoids discussing.

Primary Function

Taboo topic identification.

Communicative Purpose

To force acknowledgement of an uncomfortable issue.

Pattern

the elephant in the room

Core Structure

the elephant in the room

Função primária

Taboo topic identification.

Propósito comunicativo

To force acknowledgement of an uncomfortable issue.

Situações de gatilho

Meetings, tense family gatherings.

Contextos

Workplace, social, politics.

Padrão

the elephant in the room

Estrutura central

the elephant in the room

Slots de substituição

none

Colocados típicos

address
ignore
talk about

Substituições comuns

the 800-pound gorilla

Erros comuns

the elephant in a room

Similar / contraste

the unspoken issue, the pink elephant

Interferências

Not safari.

Família do chunk

Avoidance idioms

Nuance

Slightly humorous but serious undertone.

Efeito pragmático

Calls out avoidance.

Dica de memória

Huge elephant standing in a boardroom.

Nota

A metaphorical expression denoting a significant issue that is being ignored or avoided.

Upgrade path

the glaringly obvious yet unaddressed issue (formal)

Frequência: HighFormulaicidade: FixedTipo de construção: IdiomPrioridade de aquisição: UnknownPrioridade de output: BothTag de espaçamento: Short-termIdioma?: Sim

Examples

During the project review meeting, the budget overrun became the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to address.

In family gatherings where politics arise, it’s common for everyone to avoid talking about the election results – they call it ‘the elephant in the room’.

When the team leader pointed out a glaring mistake on the presentation slides, several colleagues hesitated; finally someone said, “Let’s bring up the elephant in the room and fix this before launch.”

Variations

elephants in the room (plural)