What is a white elephant in the room?

: an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging.

Why is it called the elephant in the room?

The elephant in the room is an American phrase with murky origins, the first reference being in 1935 to mean something obvious and incongruous. In the 1950s, the elephant in the room came to mean what it means today, something enormous that people choose to ignore because it is uncomfortable to deal with.

What does white elephant mean in slang?

Today, the term 'white elephant' denotes any burdensome, expensive and useless possession that is much more trouble than it is worth. The origins of the phrase come from Siam (modern-day Thailand).

What's another term for white elephant?

In this page you can discover 11 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for white-elephant, like: junk, more trouble than it's worth, burthen, onus, worthless object, clutter, outmoded object, heirloom, albatross, ball-and-chain and burden.

What is pink elephant?

Definition of pink elephants

: hallucinations arising especially from heavy drinking or use of narcotics began to see pink elephants.

The White Elephant In The Room

What is pink elephant in the room?

Speaking of alcoholics, "seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism, reportedly coined by none other than Jack London*, for "hallucinating while in a drunken stupor." When the title character in Disney's Dumbo accidentally drinks a bucket of booze, he dreams about "pink elephants on parade."

Is elephant in the room offensive?

The expression “the elephant in the room” (or "the elephant in the living room") is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them ...

What does elephant in the room mean urban dictionary?

informal. If you say there is an elephant in the room, you mean that there is an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.

What does elephant in the room example?

Meaning: A big problem everyone is ignoring or afraid to talk about. Examples: His alcoholism was the elephant in the room. Everyone knew he had a drinking problem but no one said anything.

How do you deal with the elephant in the room?

What is elephant slang for?

What Are Elephants? Elephants is slang for large institutional investors that can move markets on their own.

What does a black elephant mean?

A black elephant is a cross between “a black swan” — an unlikely, unexpected event with enormous ramifications — and the “elephant in the room” — a looming disaster that is visible to everyone, yet no one wants to address."

What does a green elephant mean?

In Asian culture, elephants are thought to represent wisdom, strength, and protection. A raised trunk is considered lucky -- making this little green elephant the perfect mini good luck charm!

What does the big pink elephant mean?

"Seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism for drunken hallucination caused by alcoholic hallucinosis or delirium tremens. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about snakes and other creatures.

What does Blue elephant mean?

The Blue Elephant in the Room is a national anti-stigma campaign designed to address the stigma associated with mental Illness. Displaying a blue elephant shows that you care about the wellness of others and demonstrates that this is a safe place to talk about mental illness, without fear of being viewed differently.

What does a purple elephant symbolize?

Why Would the Purple Elephant Work? The purple elephant creates issue recognition. If the purple elephant comes to be associated with end-of-life care, it can later serve as an important icebreaker for broaching the topic.

How many elephants are in the room?

You start by asking "How many pink elephants are in this room?" The participants guess until you reveal that the correct answer, which is 8.

Can elephants be blue?

Elephants are not grey anymore. They are red, blue, sometimes red and blue, spotted and striped and polka-dotted. They gleam in brass, in burnished wood and pop out of walls in three-dimensional glee.

What does elephant mean in dreams?

If you dream about an elephant, it could mean that you are someone powerful and influential, yet you are susceptible to emotions. And your feelings could leave you drained. Hence, if you are in a situation that is making you emotional, learn to be practical.

Is there such a thing as a white elephant?

A white elephant (also albino elephant) is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. In Hindu puranas, the god Indra has a white elephant. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails.

What does orange elephant mean?

The Project Orange Elephant (POE) was established by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS) to encourage farmers to cultivate crops such as oranges that are not attractive to elephants, so that they have an alternative income when elephants destroy their rice crop.

What does a gray elephant mean?

White elephants are believed to be a symbol of purity, divinity and a calm mind, while grey elephants symbolize an untrained and agitated mind, which tends to wander off from the path toward enlightenment.

What does a golden elephant mean?

This Majestic Feng Shui Golden Elephant Statue portrays the noble elephant with its trunk up. In Fengshui, elephants are a symbol of protection, good luck, wealth, wisdom and fertility.

What do you call a girl elephant?

Elephants have little in common with cattle, but they share with them the names for adult male (bull), adult female (cow) and juvenile (calf). Even their collective noun is the same: a herd of elephants.