elephant in the room
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Vấn đề rõ ràng nhưng không được giải quyết vì tính nhạy cảm
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Imported from Wikipedia “English-language idioms” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review.
Common questions
What does “elephant in the room” mean?
An obvious, pressing issue left unaddressed due to its sensitive nature.
Is “elephant in the room” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.