Editing Elephant in the room (section)

{{short description|English idiom of an obvious major problem that no one mentions}}
{{other uses}}{{Original research|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
[[File:Elephant's tea party, Robur Tea Room, Sydney, 24 March 1939 - Sam Hood (3529604677).jpg|thumb|A [[Literal and figurative language|literal]] [[elephant]] in a room, attending a [[Sydney]] [[tea party]] in 1939. The metaphorical elephant in the room represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.<ref name=cam/>]]
The expression "'''the elephant in the room'''" (or "'''the elephant in the living room'''")<ref>{{Cite web|title=the elephant in the (living) room {{!}} meaning of the elephant in the (living) room in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English {{!}} LDOCE|url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/the-elephant-in-the-living-room|access-date=22 September 2020|website=www.ldoceonline.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=World Wide Words: Elephant in the room|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-ele2.htm|access-date=22 September 2020|website=World Wide Words|language=en-gb}}</ref> is a [[metaphor]]ical [[idiom]] in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to [[conflict management|discuss]] because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable and is personally, socially, or politically embarrassing, controversial, inflammatory, or dangerous. The metaphorical elephant represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.<ref name=cam>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/elephant-in-the-room|website=cambridge.org|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|author=Anon|year=2023|title=An elephant in the room: idiom, informal}}</ref><ref>Cambridge University Press. (2009). [https://books.google.com/books?id=pqlRO2jdI2gC&pg=PA298&dq= ''Cambridge academic content dictionary,'' p. 298.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Elephant in the room Idiom Definition – Grammarist|url=https://grammarist.com/idiom/elephant-in-the-room/|access-date=22 September 2020|website=Grammarist|date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

It is based on the idea and thought that something as conspicuous as an [[elephant]] can appear to be overlooked in codified social interactions and that the sociology and psychology of [[Repression (psychology)|repression]] also operates on the macro scale.

Various languages around the world have words that describe similar concepts.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}