General
elephant in the room
What does elephant in the room mean?
A major issue that is clearly present but that people deliberately avoid discussing.
"The elephant in the room is that we're over budget."
Origin
Idiom of an obvious-yet-ignored large presence.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'elephant in the room' mean?
It refers to an obvious and important problem that everyone is aware of but nobody wants to bring up.
How do you use it?
Often to break the silence, e.g. 'Let's address the elephant in the room: nobody has hit their targets.'
Why an elephant?
An elephant is huge and impossible to ignore, so the phrase captures how absurd it is to pretend the issue isn't there.
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