"No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room." Oh?
Let's imagine you're at a party. You're enjoying a few drinks, chatting with folks , exchanging witty anecdotes... Suddenly out of the corner of your eye, you spot... could it be? No...
Yes.
An elephant. For argument's sake, we are also imagining that this is a very large and very crowded room where you wouldn't have noticed the 10 ft 10,000 lb animal when you initially walked in.
Is this English idiomatic expression inferring that most people would continue to carry on in normal conversation pretending not to see this elephant? What happens if the elephant walked over and hit you in the head with its trunk, throwing you to the ground? Do you complain about the uneven flooring? And what if the elephant starts making elephant noises. Do you turn up the music a little louder? Feign a coughing fit to divert everyone's attention?
There are a lot of topics that people will go to great lengths to avoid talking about due to a fear of violating social norms, an elephant however, not one of them.
If I ever found myself in this situation, I feel like I'd have to something, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Hey I've seen Donnie Darko. And Harvey. Suffering from delusions, not a good thing.
Me: Sorry to interrupt the conversation but does anyone else see the elephant in the room?
Fictional Friend #1: I see it.
Fictional Friend #2: Me too.
At which point I would redirect the conversation cause contrary to the old adage, EVERYONE wants to talk about the elephant in the room.
Let's imagine you're at a party. You're enjoying a few drinks, chatting with folks , exchanging witty anecdotes... Suddenly out of the corner of your eye, you spot... could it be? No...
Yes.
An elephant. For argument's sake, we are also imagining that this is a very large and very crowded room where you wouldn't have noticed the 10 ft 10,000 lb animal when you initially walked in.
Is this English idiomatic expression inferring that most people would continue to carry on in normal conversation pretending not to see this elephant? What happens if the elephant walked over and hit you in the head with its trunk, throwing you to the ground? Do you complain about the uneven flooring? And what if the elephant starts making elephant noises. Do you turn up the music a little louder? Feign a coughing fit to divert everyone's attention?
There are a lot of topics that people will go to great lengths to avoid talking about due to a fear of violating social norms, an elephant however, not one of them.
If I ever found myself in this situation, I feel like I'd have to something, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Hey I've seen Donnie Darko. And Harvey. Suffering from delusions, not a good thing.
Me: Sorry to interrupt the conversation but does anyone else see the elephant in the room?
Fictional Friend #1: I see it.
Fictional Friend #2: Me too.
At which point I would redirect the conversation cause contrary to the old adage, EVERYONE wants to talk about the elephant in the room.
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