英语俚语天天说 第64期:避而不谈的事情elephant in the room

 　　释义：

　　Ignoring an obvious problem; Failing to address an issue that stands out in a major way.忽略明显的问题，避而不谈的事情；

　　来源：

　　The imagery for this phrase is something like this: 这个词组的寓意是这样When there's a big problem that is easily noticeable, 当有一个显而易见的事情时yet nobody is willing to discuss or even acknowledge it, then the issue sticks out like a sore thumb.但没有人愿意去谈论或者承认It's as if there is a giant elephant in the room and everyone is just ignoring it despite how big and apparent it is. 就好比屋子里有一头象，尽管很大很明显，但是依然没有人留意到。Seriously, you can't miss them. 认真来讲，你应该会留意到。

　　The exact origin of this phrase is unclear, 词组的来源不是很确定however, the phrase looks to be a relatively¹ recent one, only being found in print as early as the mid² 20th century, though it's always possible that the idiom is older. 但是，词组相对来讲是比较新的，大约在20世纪时候被发现。Wikipedia states that the Oxford³ English Dictionary credits the New York Times newspaper from June 20th, 1959, as the first recorded use of this phrase as a simile⁴.维基百科记录，牛津词典记录1959年6月20号的纽约时报第一次提到过这个词组。

　　举例：

　　A century later, China is not so much the elephant in the room, but the elephant in the region.

　　一个世纪后，中国不再被视而不见，而是被更多地关注

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 simile   

n.直喻，明喻

参考例句：

• I believe this simile largely speaks the truth.我相信这种比拟在很大程度上道出了真实。
• It is a trite simile to compare her teeth to pearls.把她的牙齿比做珍珠是陈腐的比喻。