White Elephant In The Room Origin

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

White elephant in the room origin.

A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost particularly that of maintenance is out of proportion to its usefulness. 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. In modern usage it is an object building project scheme business venture facility etc considered expensive but without use or value. What s the origin of that phrase.

Posted by q on november 17 2000. You are confusing two separate phrases. In 1814 ivan andreevich krylov 1769 1844 poet and fabulist wrote a. I would suggest it s a riff off these two literary pieces courtesy of wikipedia.

Elephant in the room. 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. Definition of white elephant in the idioms dictionary. An elephant in the room definition.

A topic that everyone is aware of but everyone avoids discussing. Something like planning a vacation but not having a way to leave. They can grow up to 14 feet 4 m tall and weigh up to 15 000 lb 7 000 kg. Posted by esc on november 17 2000.

Definitions by the largest idiom dictionary. How could you not. The original question was how did the phrase the elephant in the room come to originate. The elephant in the room is the large obvious obstacle that everyone is trying to get around.

After all these mammals are the largest land animals on earth. The origin of elephant in the room literally speaking if there was an elephant in the room you would notice it right away. 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. Does it have to do the little white elephant statues that i sometimes see in peoples houses.

What does white elephant expression mean. If you say there is an elephant in the room you mean that there is an obvious problem or. It d stick out like a sore thumb.