stare in the face

Idioms  

1. Also, look in the face. Be glaringly obvious, although initially overlooked, as in The solution to the problem had been staring me in the face all along, or I wouldn't know a Tibetan terrier if it looked me in the face. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

Unilaterally disarming without forcing the Supreme Court to confront what it’s doing may sound like a lofty high-minded goal, but it allows the court’s conservatives off of the hook without having to stare in the face the damage of their rulings on issues they actually care about.

From Slate

Watkins sent him a brief memory of walking Death Valley with her father, once Charles Manson’s “right-hand man,” and bowled him over with what he calls “her ability to stare in the face of publicized memories and wrest them back.”

From Los Angeles Times

To stare in the face of a man who ruined your life, as he now very publicly claims you're now ruining his?

From Salon

I don’t know how those people do it; I don’t know how they stare in the face of this terrible, terrible, terrible tragedy and function.

From Los Angeles Times

"Do you give up the chase like an old retiree? Or do you stare in the face of new adversaries?"

From BBC