elephant in the room en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Likely US origin, or possibly from Ivan Andreyevich Krylov's 1814 fable, The Inquisitive Man, which tells of a man going to a museum and noticing all sorts of things apart from an elephant.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) A problem or difficult issue that is very obvious, but is ignored for the convenience or comfort of those involved.
Near-synonyms: 800-pound gorilla, gorilla in the room, 800-pound gorilla in the room
While the Swiss bank remained positive on the sector through 2022, the coronavirus situation remained “the elephant in the room,” he added.
2022 January 17, Martin Choi, “Macau’s gaming law reforms positive for casino industry, but outlook clouded by Covid-19 uncertainty, UBS, JPMorgan analysts say”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 22 Feb 2022:There is an elephant in the room that nearly every politician and green campaigner is ignoring. It’s called population growth.
2008 January 6, Nicholas Rufford, “Motormouth: The car of the future, at £1,300”, in Sunday Times (UK), archived from the original on 05 Oct 2025:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| elephants in the room | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
gorilla in the room · 800-pound gorilla in the room
Relateds
paromologia · paromology · address me 🐘 · acknowledge the corn
Synonyms
800-pound gorilla · 800-pound gorilla in the room · emperor's new clothes · gorilla in the room
Translations (27)
de Elefant im Raum (problem that is obvious but ignored) · pl słoń w salonie (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ru слона-то я и не приметил (problem that is obvious but ignored) · fr l'éléphant dans la pièce (problem that is obvious but ignored) · hy փիղ մեջ տարածությունը (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ro elefantul din cameră (problem that is obvious but ignored) · fi vaiettu tosiasia (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ja 部屋の象 (problem that is obvious but ignored) · am በክፍሉ ውስጥ ዝሆን (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ru скользкая тема (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ko 방안의 코끼리 (problem that is obvious but ignored) · it elefante nella stanza (problem that is obvious but ignored) · eo elefanto en la ĉambro (problem that is obvious but ignored) · hi कमरे में हाथी (problem that is obvious but ignored) · pt elefante na sala (problem that is obvious but ignored) · fi virtahepo olohuoneessa (problem that is obvious but ignored) · sv elefanten i rummet (problem that is obvious but ignored) · es elefante en la habitación (problem that is obvious but ignored) · hu elefánt a szobában (problem that is obvious but ignored) · he פיל בחדר (problem that is obvious but ignored) · sq elefanti në dhomë (problem that is obvious but ignored) · th ช้างในห้อง (problem that is obvious but ignored) · cmn 房間裡的大象 /房间里的大象 (problem that is obvious but ignored) · tr odadaki fil (problem that is obvious but ignored) · ka ადგილში სპილო (problem that is obvious but ignored) · nl olifant in de kamer (problem that is obvious but ignored) · id gajah dalam ruangan (problem that is obvious but ignored)