be looking (one) in the face

1. To be almost certain to happen or become a problem. I know you don't want to pay for this expensive course of treatment, but if you keep ignoring your health, a hospital stay will be looking you in the face. Foreclosure is looking us in the face now—what are we going to do? I don't want to lose the house! Mom and Dad want us to come to the hospital now. It sounds like death is looking Uncle Ed in the face.

2. To be very obvious, especially suddenly. Thanks to all of those failed experiments, the solution is finally looking me in the face! The right decision—to break up, unfortunately—had been looking us in the face all along. If you take a break and get away from all this stuff, I'm sure a new plan will be looking you in the face when you come back to it.

look/stare you in the ˈface

(usually used in progressive tenses) (of a fact, an answer, a situation, etc.) be obvious but not noticed: The answer to the problem had been staring her in the face for years but she hadn’t seen it. ♢ ‘Where’s that book?’ ‘There in front of you, looking you in the face.’