Oh dear, oh dear...

...some Conservative MP is in hot water for using the expression "nigger in the woodpile" in a speech she gave to a private meeting the other day.  It used to be a perfectly acceptable term for something important but not generally appreciated - a bit like "elephant in the room" except that that is generally used for something obvious but ignored rather than something that's not talked about because it doesn't readily occur to people's minds  Of course, it contains the infamous "n-word" and is therefore offensive to those who look to take offense wherever they can.  I would imagine that most of those taking offense are probably white - as has been mentioned before, the word is common currency among the black community.