emperor's new clothes

English

Etymology

After The Emperor's New Clothes, a tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Noun

the emperor's new clothes pl (plural only)

  1. (idiomatic) Something obvious and embarrassing that is politely ignored or that goes unacknowledged.
    Synonym: elephant in the room

Translations

See also

Further reading

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