Everyone ignored the elephant in the room during the meeting.
elephant in the room
idiom B1
A problem or difficult issue that is very obvious, but is ignored for the convenience or comfort of those involved.
Origin
first recorded 19th c.The image appears in Ivan Krylov's fable 'The Inquisitive Man' (1814), about a museum visitor who notices everything but the elephant; Dostoevsky later referenced it, and the idiom spread in 20th-century English.
We all knew the project was failing, but nobody wanted to address the elephant in the room.
Despite the mounting tension at the dinner table, the family chose to ignore the elephant in the room, focusing instead on trivial matters of the day.
- 01
assume room temperature
To die; to be killed.
- 02
baby elephant in the room
An obvious but mostly inconsequential issue.
- 03
eat an elephant one bite at a time
To do something one step at a time; to do something in steps rather than all at once.
- 04
get a room
Used to instruct a couple to stop displaying romantic or physical affection in public.
- 05
gorilla in the room
A problem or difficult issue that is very obvious, but is ignored for the convenience or comfort of those involved.
- 06
light up a room
To possess great energy and appeal; to cause a social gathering to become animated and cheerful.
- 07
locker room humor
A type of humor involving jokes about crude and sexual topics.
- 08
make room
To rearrange or organize existing people, objects, furniture, belongings, etc., to create space for new objects.