800-pound gorilla

短语

因强大而无需顾忌其他的人或物

发音

AU

词形变化

800-pound gorillas 复数 800-pound gorillas

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    An entity that dominates its environment.

    习语

    Q: Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep? A: Wherever it wants!

    Back then, the mayor was an 800-pound gorilla in this town.

  2. 2.

    Something dangerous, menacing, or frightening that is obvious but not addressed.

    习语

    Near-synonyms: elephant in the room, emperor's new clothes

    The mayor's abuse of his power was an 800-pound gorilla in polite conversation.

词源

Attested since at least 1971, from a riddle: "Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?" / "Anywhere it wants."

来源：wiktionary