elephant in the room
an obvious problem that people avoid discussing
TRANSLATION
elephant in the room = ein offensichtliches Problem, das totgeschwiegen wird --- GOOGLE INDEX elephant in the room: approximately 48,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
We all know that the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM at this general election is the figure 167 – the number of billions of public debt.
(The UK Daily Telegraph)
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When there is an ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, introduce it.
- Dr. Randy Pausch
(The UK Daily Telegraph)
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When there is an ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, introduce it.
- Dr. Randy Pausch
Did you
know?
elephant in the room
metaphor
- an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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The widespread use of the expression "elephant in the room" has caused some writers and journalists to complain that it has been transformed from metaphor to cliché.
Nevertheless, it's a very descriptive metaphor with a touch of humour. Imagine standing around in a room where an elephant has taken over the sofa. What to do? Offer it a drink, maybe a peanut? Tell it to leave? If so, through which door?
The safest strategy is to pretend that the elephant doesn't exist, to simply ignore it.
Elephant is also used in idioms such as "white elephant" (something useless that costs a lot of money) and "a memory like an elephant" (to be good at remembering things).
The poor elephant has also long been the object of really stupid jokes. For example:
How many elephants will fit into a Mini?
Answer: Four. Two in the front, two in the back.
How do you know there is an elephant in your refrigerator?
Answer: There are footprints in the butter.
- How do you know there are two elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: You can hear giggling when the light goes out.
- How do you know there are three elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: You can't close the door.
- How do you know there are four elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: There's an empty Mini parked outside.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The recent dismissal of the marketing director was the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM during the last company meeting."
---
QUICK, BEFORE YOU GO, TEST YOUR MEMORY !!
Do you remember last Friday's OWAD?
What's the missing phrase?
die Eintagsfliege; etwas, was nur für kurze Zeit erfolgreich ist = F _ _ _ _ IN THE _ _ _
"We design our products to be more than just a F _ _ _ _ IN THE _ _ _."
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F L A S H IN THE P A N
metaphor
- an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The widespread use of the expression "elephant in the room" has caused some writers and journalists to complain that it has been transformed from metaphor to cliché.
Nevertheless, it's a very descriptive metaphor with a touch of humour. Imagine standing around in a room where an elephant has taken over the sofa. What to do? Offer it a drink, maybe a peanut? Tell it to leave? If so, through which door?
The safest strategy is to pretend that the elephant doesn't exist, to simply ignore it.
Elephant is also used in idioms such as "white elephant" (something useless that costs a lot of money) and "a memory like an elephant" (to be good at remembering things).
The poor elephant has also long been the object of really stupid jokes. For example:
How many elephants will fit into a Mini?
Answer: Four. Two in the front, two in the back.
How do you know there is an elephant in your refrigerator?
Answer: There are footprints in the butter.
- How do you know there are two elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: You can hear giggling when the light goes out.
- How do you know there are three elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: You can't close the door.
- How do you know there are four elephants in your refrigerator?
Answer: There's an empty Mini parked outside.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The recent dismissal of the marketing director was the ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM during the last company meeting."
---
QUICK, BEFORE YOU GO, TEST YOUR MEMORY !!
Do you remember last Friday's OWAD?
What's the missing phrase?
die Eintagsfliege; etwas, was nur für kurze Zeit erfolgreich ist = F _ _ _ _ IN THE _ _ _
"We design our products to be more than just a F _ _ _ _ IN THE _ _ _."
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F L A S H IN THE P A N
