elephant trap

ele·phant trap
UK/ˈɛlɪf(ə)nt ˌtɹæp/US/ˈɛləfənt ˌtɹæp/

noun

A trap which can easily be avoided by a competent person, and thus proves the incompetence of anybody trapped by it.

“To show he doesn’t do his fair share of work, I’ve set him an elephant trap. If he falls in he’ll look like a clown.”

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Meanings

nounelephant trap (plural elephant traps)

plural elephant traps

  1. figurativelyA trap which can easily be avoided by a competent person, and thus proves the incompetence of anybody trapped by it.

    To show he doesn’t do his fair share of work, I’ve set him an elephant trap. If he falls in he’ll look like a clown.

  2. figurativelyboard gamesOften in the form Elephant Trap: a faulty attempt by White to win a pawn in a popular variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is generally only effective against inexperienced players.

Origin

From elephant + trap, alluding to the fact that a trap for an elephant needs to be quite large, and so ought to be easily seen.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan parany de l'elefant, trampa de l'elefant
  • parany de l'elefant(chess) faulty attempt by White to win a pawn
  • trampa de l'elefant(chess) faulty attempt by White to win a pawn
French piège de l'éléphant
  • piège de l'éléphant(chess) faulty attempt by White to win a pawn
Tamil யானைப் பொறி
  • யானைப் பொறி (yāṉaip poṟi)(chess) faulty attempt by White to win a pawn
Vietnamese bẫy elephant
  • bẫy elephant(chess) faulty attempt by White to win a pawn
Cite this entry
APA

elephant trap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elephant%20trap

MLA

“elephant trap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elephant%20trap. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “elephant trap,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elephant%20trap.

Source: elephant trap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.