Metaphor for Naming Elephants in UK

Fri Mar 25 10:13:49 PST 2005

I am really enjoying reading about some metaphors form cultures other
than my own. . . but I am not certain that "un cadavre dans la
placard" -  "a corpse in the wardrobe" is exactly an equivalent to
'elephant in the living room'.

Here in USA, we have the phrase "skeletons in the closet", which is
very similar, yes?, to 'a corpse in the wardrobe?  These, for me,
refer to past dissonance, maybe an old scandal, that might be
impacting the present but are not easily discussed.

But an 'elephant in the living room', for me, refers to an active
dissonance that no one is talking about.  If someone is an active
alcoholic, creating dissonance in a system, and the system tiptoes
around this dissonance trying to pretend it isn't there, this
dissonance is an 'elephant in the closet'.

A 'skeleton in the closet' might refer to the fact that my husband
used to cause problems with his addiction to gambling (or other bad
habit) but an 'elephant in the living room', for me, suggests that
someone in the system is actively and PRESENTLY doing something to
stress the system and no one is openly acknowledging the problem.
"There is an elephant in the living room and if we ignore it, maybe it
will go away, please, please please!"

We all have skeletons in our closet, pieces of our past that we aren't
always eager to have examined in the present.  But we do not all have
elephants in the living room, I think.  Which is not to say that we do
not all have dissonance in the present; of course we all do.  But an
elephant in the living room quite specifically refers to an active,
BIG dysfunction that is not challenged and allowed to continue to
exist in a system.  At least, in my humble opinion.

And I would very much like to know of equivalents in other cultures to
this elephant.

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:21:07 +0100, Erich Kolenaty
<e.kolenaty at transformation.at> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> in german we know many of these, sometimes a little different:
>
> "Moving around the hot porridge" (um den heißen Brei herumschleichen),
> the "elephant in the living room" moves to the china shop (Elefant im
> Porzellanladen)
>
> But more close to the dead moose is
> "a burried dog" (da liegt der Hund begraben) and
> "the corpse in the wardroom" which in german moves into the cellar (Leiche
> im Keller)
>
> Servus aus Wien
> Erich
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Vliex, Carla (cvl)
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
> Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 11:48 AM
> Subject: Re: Metaphor for Naming Elephants in UK
>
>
> hi Esther
>
> one thing more we all have in common, the issue's we always try to avoid.
> Some metaphors we use in holland:
> - the skeleton in the cupboard (in dutch; het lijk in de kast)
> -  moving aroud the hot porridge (in dutch om de hete brij heen draaien)
>
> I am curious like you about other metaphors
>
>
> Met vriendelijke groet,
>
> drs. Carla Vliex
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Esther
> Ewing
> Sent: donderdag 24 maart 2005 01:52
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Metaphor for Naming Elephants in UK
>
>
> Hi all:
> I would like to specifically address my question to those OS members in UK
> or anywhere else  or to anyone who knows the answer to my question.
>
> In Canada many of us OS folks have used the metaphor of the Dead Moose to
> signify the sticky tough issue that no one wants to discuss, that everyone
> knows is there and which is blocking creativity and progress. And that
> people discuss anyway privately.
>
> Sue Hammond and her colleague Andrea Mayfield have published a brilliant
> book called The Thin Book of Naming Elephants - Discussing the
> Undiscussibles  (www.thinbookpublishing.com) and if you haven't seen it or
> read it, you should - it's brilliant.
>
> Naming Elephants is a metaphor that seems easily understood and recognized
> in the US (and indeed in Canada). However, in some discussions with clients
> in the UK, it has had to be explained.
>
> Does anyone know what the equivalent metaphor might be in UK?  This would
> help me market my services to my UK clients.
>
> And for fun,  I would be curious to know what the equivalent metaphor would
> be in other parts of Europe or the rest of the world (translated literally
> into English). For example, is it un chat mort (a dead cat) or something
> else in German or Danish or Swedish etc. What do you say in Australia for
> example? Or New Zealand? Or Scotland?
>
> Esther Ewing
> The Change Alliance
> 330 East 38th St., Suite 53K
> New York, NY 10016, USA
> Telephone: 212-661-6024, Fax: 866-296-6712
>
> Assisting organizations to build capability
> www.changealliance.com
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--
Warmly,
Therese Fitzpatrick

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