the elephant in the room

idiomPart ofelephant

the elephant in the room — idiom

1. A major problem or an awkward subject that everyone knows about but nobody wants

1.idiom
Definition

A major problem or an awkward subject that everyone knows about but nobody wants to discuss, especially in a social or professional group setting.

Example

During the board meeting, nobody talked about falling sales — that was the elephant in the room.

Ravindra knew the elephant in the room was his decision to quit, so he brought it up himself.