English Idiom: The elephant in the room

Meaning: The big issue, the problem people are avoiding

How its used: as part of a sentence

Example Sentence 1.

John: Tom, we need to address the elephant in the room. You’ve been absent from work for two weeks now…

Tom: Oh, I’m sorry…

Example Sentence 2.

Mary: We can’t avoid it any longer, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Mark and Nancy are in a relationship with each other.

Rebecca: What?! But Mark told me he loves me…

As you can see in the above example sentences, “the elephant in the room” usually has a negative connotation attached to it.