The idiom ‘elephant in the room' means ‘something that needs to be addressed which has been recently avoided'. The video explains the meaning of the idiom ‘elephant in the room' in English. We explain how to use it with some easy examples for Social and Business English.
The idiom an elephant in the room can be known as an obvious truth or fact, especially one regarded as embarrassing or undesirable, that is being intentionally ignored or constantly left unaddressed. The elephant is the problem, issue or truth that gets swept under the carpet, but when it gets too uncomfortable to ignore, it becomes the elephant in the room. This is also known as an extremely obvious circumstance which cannot be overlooked.
Further Examples:
She found out he cheated, so when he got home, she brought up the elephant in the room straight away.
He lost all his money in a business investment and had to tell his wife about this elephant in the room when he got home.