Elephant in the room

We could also say elephant in the sitting room or in the living room or even on the coffee table. "Elephant in the room" is an english idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one want to discuss. The idiom is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook, thus people within a room who pretend as if the elephant is not there have made a decision/choice. These people choose to concern themselves with small and irrelavant issues instead of dealing with the big looming issue.

I am sure that many of us have experienced an elephant in the room more than one time and choose to ignore certain things because it is upsetting or difficult to speak about. For example a year ago myself and my boyfriends family witnessed a suicide in Port Elizabeth and even though it is a year later this month all of us choose not to speak about it, we sort of speak around the issue like mentioning that we visited Addo Park and Jeffreys Bay but the topic of the suicide remains silent as we feel that many might be offended or taken back to that very moment causing an unpleasant situation. An elephant in the room could also refer to a women being pregnant before she is married or arranged marriages. Many times people are not really happy to speak about there teenage daughters being pregnant or getting married at a very young age.

An elephant in the room is generally ignored by people because it is embarrassing or a taboo. So whatever your elephant is be sure to deal with it head on.