the elephant in the room

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR B2

Post

Example

“Nobody mentioned the budget cuts, the elephant in the room.”

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

read the room Informal · CEFR B1

to sense the mood, expectations, and dynamics of the people present

war room Neutral · CEFR B2

a dedicated room, channel, or meeting where a team works intensively to solve a critical problem

white elephant Neutral · CEFR C1

an expensive, burdensome asset that is hard to maintain and brings no benefit

a hot potato Informal · CEFR B2

A controversial or awkward issue that no one wants to deal with.

beat around the bush Informal · CEFR B2

To avoid talking about the main point directly.

bad news Informal · CEFR A2

an unpleasant piece of information; (informal) a person or thing likely to cause trouble

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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