THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
It happens a lot in business. There may be something very big and very important that needs to be discussed, but it hurts to talk about. Or it might cause problems, so we refer to this as the elephant in the room.
ORIGIN
It was used in 1814 by Yvonne Krylov, a Russian poet and fabulist.
He wrote a little fable called the Inquisitive Man, which talks about the story of a man who goes to a museum and notices all sorts of tiny things but fails to notice an elephant in the room.
EXAMPLES
«When Jeff arrived in the meeting yesterday, he had a huge black eye. He gave us no explanation and nobody dared to ask him about it. So we sat there for the whole meeting with this elephant in the room.»
Another example:
«That was the elephant in the room. Everyone knew, but no one said anything.»
EXERCISE:
Choose the Correct Sentence
Read each situation and choose the sentence that correctly uses the idiom «The Elephant in the Room.
1. At the board meeting, the financial crisis was the most important issue, but no one mentioned it.
A. They were all pretending the elephant in the room wasn’t there, ignoring the crisis completely.
B. The elephant in the room at the meeting was how well the company was doing this quarter.
C. Everyone ignored the elephant in the room and discussed irrelevant topics instead.
2. During a family dinner, everyone was laughing and talking, but no one brought up the fact that one relative had stopped speaking to another.
A. The elephant in the room was the tension between family members, but no one dared to address it.
B. The elephant in the room was how much everyone enjoyed the dinner.
C. No one noticed the elephant in the room at the dinner; they were all focused on their food.
3. The team was talking about minor issues, but the real problem was the ongoing conflict between two team members.
A. The elephant in the room was the conflict between the two team members, but no one wanted to talk about it.
B. The elephant in the room was the new team leader everyone adored.
C. The team was discussing the elephant in the room and how to solve the conflict.
4. At the wedding, everyone was having a good time, but the absence of one close friend was noticeable to everyone.
A. The elephant in the room at the wedding was the missing friend, but no one mentioned it.
B. The elephant in the room was how beautiful the decorations were.
C. No one cared about the elephant in the room, they were just focused on dancing.
5. The company was facing severe budget cuts, but the leadership team refused to talk about it.
A. The elephant in the room was the financial crisis, but no one was brave enough to bring it up.
B. The elephant in the room was the new office snacks everyone was talking about.
C. The leadership team ignored the elephant in the room and focused on the company’s new expansion
ANSWERS:
1 → C
2 → A
3 → A
4 → A
5 → B
Next time there’s an elephant in the room, don’t shy away—acknowledge it and start the conversation!