English Idioms

elephant in the room

An obvious truth that is going unaddressed - it also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss.

This phrase is VERY common in business. Sometimes people are trying to be polite so they don’t want to say something to offend a co-worker even if they think it might be obvious.


white elephant 

A possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness.

The phrase comes from stories about the kings of Siam (Thailand), who were accustomed to make a present of one of these animals to courtiers who had rendered themselves obnoxious, in order to ruin the recipient by the cost of its maintenance.