elephant

Elephants are the largest mammals to live on land. They’re found in Africa and Asia, and they’re a popular attraction at zoos around the world. When you need to say that someone or something is large, an elephant serves as a good basis for comparison.

• He has ears like an elephant.
• Rachel’s grandmother has legs as large as an elephant’s trunk.
• The students ran through the hallway like a pack of wild elephants.

Here are a few examples of how the word "elephant" might be used within popular expressions:

• Laura has a memory like an elephant. (Elephants are good at remembering things.)
• No one is talking about the elephant in the room. ("The elephant in the room" is the thing that everyone is thinking about, but no one wants to talk about — for whatever reason.)
• The church down the street is having a white elephant sale. (white elephant sale = a sale of good-quality, used items. A rummage sale is similar.)

Note: The Republican Party in the United States uses an elephant as its symbol.

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February 5, 2014