Though I do see a third usage cropping up that threatens to take it in a rather different direction. I see young people say things like, “And then I literally got mad at him.” Since one can’t figuratively get mad at someone, neither of the usual usages makes sense. So it’s like they’re using it to mean “really” or just add a sort of general emphasis.
But it is actually a “literal elephant,” as per the headline. It’s not just a figurative “elephant in the room” that’s not actually an elephant. The elephant in the room involves a literal elephant, even if the elephant isn’t literally in the room.
