Elephant in the room
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The elephant in the room (also elephant in the living room, elephant in the corner) is an English idiom for some issue that is extremely obvious to a group of people, but which is very carefully not being discussed. It derives its symbolic meaning from the fact that an elephant would indeed be conspicuous and remarkable in a small room; thus the idiom also implies a value judgment that the issue should be discussed openly. The idiom is commonly used in addiction recovery terminology to describe the reluctance of friends and family of an addicted person to discuss the person's problem, thus aiding the person in their denial.
The idiom is also occasionally invoked as "pink elephant in the corner," if for no other reason than a pink elephant stands out better than a normal one.
The 2003 film Elephant, directed by Gus Van Sant, references the idiom in the context of a Columbine-style high school shooting.