# elephant in the room

idiom · CEFR B1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/elephant-in-the-room
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A problem or difficult issue that is very obvious, but is ignored for the convenience or comfort of those involved.

## Examples

- Everyone ignored the elephant in the room during the meeting.
- Her messy breakup is the elephant in the room at the party.
- The huge debt is the elephant in the room for the young couple.
- We all knew the project was failing, but nobody wanted to address the elephant in the room.
- The fact that the manager is leaving next week is the elephant in the room that no one mentions during our lunch break.
- When the two rivals had to work together, their past argument became the elephant in the room that made everyone feel uncomfortable.
- 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.

## Origin

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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.