White Elephant In The Room Idiom

If you say there is an elephant in the room you mean that there is an obvious problem or.

White elephant in the room idiom.

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. Elephant in the corner white elephant in the room pink elephant in the room. 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. An elephant in the room definition.

Definition of white elephant in the idioms dictionary. Many church bazaars held white elephant sales where donors could unload unwanted bric à brac generating profit from the phenomenon that one man s trash is another man s treasure and the term has continued to be used in. Meaning of idiom elephant in the room the elephant in the room is a topic that is sensitive awkward or embarrassing and that no one wants to talk about but which is difficult to ignore. So regardless of the kind of room it s in an elephant is not something that can be easily ignored.

Increasing poverty in the world is the western politicians elephant in the room. Thus this metaphor might be applied to situations where a person is aware of a problem but they choose to not acknowledge it. Definitions by the largest idiom dictionary. A topic that everyone is aware of but everyone avoids discussing.

What does white elephant expression mean. It s as if there is a big elephant in the room and they are intentionally ignoring it. White elephant synonyms white elephant pronunciation white elephant translation english dictionary definition of white elephant. The origin of this phrase.

Perhaps a sore spot perhaps politically incorrect or perhaps a political hot potato it s something that no one wants to touch with a ten foot pole. The rationale behind the idiom is that an elephant in a living room would be impossible to overlook but people in the room can nevertheless choose to behave as if the elephant was non existent.