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white elephant
white elephantn.1. A rare whitish or light-gray form of the Asian elephant, often considered sacred in parts of South and Southeast Asia.2. A possession that provides few benefits and is an inconvenience or a financial burden to maintain.
[Sense 2, in reference to a story that when the kings of Siam wished to ruin an offending courtier, they would give him a white elephant, which the courtier then had to maintain at great expense.]white elephant n 1. (Animals) a rare albino or pale grey variety of the Indian elephant, regarded as sacred in parts of S Asia 2. a possession that is unwanted by its owner 3. an elaborate venture, construction, etc, that proves useless 4. a rare or valuable possession the upkeep of which is very expensive white′ el′ephant
n. 1. a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of. 2. a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its value to the owner. 3. an albino Indian elephant. [1850–55; from the tale that the King of Siam would award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the upkeep of which would ruin the courtier] white elephant - The name of this animal, which has an enormous appetite, has come to mean "useless, expensive possession"—or a possession that is more trouble than it is worth.See also related terms for possession.Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | white elephant - a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensivepossession - anything owned or possessed | | 2. | white elephant - albinic Indian elephant; rare and sometimes venerated in east AsiaElephas maximus, Indian elephant - Asian elephant having smaller ears and tusks primarily in the male |
Translationswhite (wait) adjective1. of the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. The bride wore a white dress. 白的 白的2. having light-coloured skin, through being of European etc descent. the first white man to explore Africa. 白種人的 白种人的3. abnormally pale, because of fear, illness etc. He went white with shock. 蒼白的 苍白的4. with milk in it. A white coffee, please. 加牛奶的 加牛奶的 noun1. the colour of the paper on which these words are printed. White and black are opposites. 白色 白色2. a white-skinned person. racial trouble between blacks and whites. 白種人 白种人3. (also ˈegg-white) the clear fluid in an egg, surrounding the yolk. This recipe tells you to separate the yolks from the whites. 蛋白 蛋清4. (of an eye) the white part surrounding the pupil and iris. The whites of her eyes are bloodshot. 眼白 眼白ˈwhiten verb to make or become white or whiter. She used a little bleach to whiten the sheets. (使)變白或更白 （使某物）变白或更白 ˈwhiteness noun 白色 白色ˈwhitening noun a substance used to make certain things (eg tennis shoes) white again. 增白劑 白粉ˈwhitish adjective fairly white; close to white. 相當白的，近白色的 发白的，带白色的 ˌwhite-ˈcollar adjective (of workers, jobs etc) not manual; (working) in an office etc. 白領階級的 白领阶层的white elephant a useless, unwanted possession. 沒有用或不想要的東西 无用的东西，累赘物 white horse noun (usually in plural) a wave that has a crest of white foam. 白浪 白浪ˌwhite-ˈhot adjective (of metals) so hot that they have turned white. a white-hot poker. 白熱的 白热的white lie a not very serious lie. I'd rather tell my mother a white lie than tell her the truth and upset her. 善意的謊言 善意的谎言ˈwhitewash noun a mixture of usually lime and water, used for whitening walls. 灰泥 （粉刷用的）石灰水，白色涂料 verb to cover with whitewash. 用灰泥粉刷 用白色涂料粉刷ˈwhitewashed adjective 粉刷過的 已粉刷的white winewinewhite elephant
white elephant1. An expensive item that is troublesome or useless. The term comes from a story about the king of Siam, who was said to have given an albino elephant, considered sacred, to a member of the court whom he disliked, knowing that taking care of the animal would exhaust the person's fortune. At first, Eve was excited to inherit the farm, but it soon proved to be a white elephant she couldn't afford.2. A fundraiser in which unwanted items have been donated for sale. The church is having a white elephant sale to raise funds for the new vestibule. I'm excited to see what kind of treasures people bring from their garages!3. A gift exchange in which participants bring unwanted items that can then be chosen and swapped, depending on the particular rules of the gathering. A: "What's with the ugly vase?" B: "We had a white elephant at work, and this is what I ended up with. I'll probably bring it next year."See also: elephant, whitewhite elephantsomething that is large and unwieldy and is either a nuisance or expensive to keep up. Bob's father-in-law has given him an old Rolls Royce, but it's a real white elephant. He has no place to park it and can't afford the gas for it. Those antique vases Aunt Mary gave me are white elephants. They're ugly and I have no place to put them.See also: elephant, whitewhite elephantAn unwanted or useless item, as in The cottage at the lake had become a real white elephant-too run down to sell, yet costly to keep up , or Grandma's ornate silver is a white elephant; no one wants it but it's too valuable to discard . This expression comes from a legendary former Siamese custom whereby an albino elephant, considered sacred, could only be owned by the king. The king would bestow such an animal on a subject with whom he was displeased and wait until the high cost of feeding the animal, which could not be slaughtered, ruined the owner. The story was told in England in the 1600s, and in the 1800s the term began to be used figuratively. See also: elephant, whitea white elephant COMMON If you describe something such as a new building or project as a white elephant, you mean that it has cost a lot of money but is completely useless. The whole complex was a white elephant, constructed at enormous expense but never used. After 17 years under construction, the factory is still only partly built and is far from being operational. It is in fact, a great white elephant. Note: There is a story that the Kings of Siam used to give white elephants, which are very rare, to courtiers who they did not like. The animals cost so much to keep that their owners spent all their money on them and became very poor. See also: elephant, whitea white elephant a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. In former times, the rare albino elephant was regarded as holy. It was highly prized by the kings of Siam (now Thailand) and its upkeep was extremely expensive. It was apparently the practice for a king of Siam to give one of the elephants to a courtier they disliked: the unfortunate recipient would usually be financially ruined by the attempt to maintain the animal.See also: elephant, whitea white ˈelephant a thing that is useless and no longer needed, although it may have cost a lot of money: That theatre is a real white elephant. It cost millions to build and nobody ever goes there.This comes from the story that in Siam (now Thailand), the king would give a white elephant as a present to somebody that he did not like. That person would have to spend all their money on looking after the rare animal.See also: elephant, whitewhite elephant n. a useless or unwanted object. (From the notion that an extremely valuable gift that requires great expense for its care and protection is an unwanted gift.) Take all those white elephants to the flea market. See also: elephant, whitewhite elephant, aAn unwanted possession that is hard to get rid of but too valuable to throw away. The term comes from a widely told story of an ancient Siamese custom whereby only the king could own an albino elephant, which therefore was considered sacred. When the king was displeased with a courtier, he would give him such a white elephant and wait until the high costs of feeding the beast—being sacred, it could not be killed—caused the man to be ruined. The custom became known in England in the seventeenth century, and by the nineteenth century the term had been transferred to other unwanted items. G. E. Jewsbury wrote, “His services are like so many white elephants of which nobody can make use, and yet that drain one’s gratitude” (letter, 1851). See also: whitewhite elephantAn expensive but useless possession. Albino elephants are extremely rare, and any born in Siam became the property of the king. These favored specimens were not allowed to be worked or to be killed without the royal permission. As the story goes, the king often perversely gave a white elephant to a courtier who had fallen out of favor, just so the nobleman would spend a small fortune maintaining the useless gift for the rest of its life. Rummage sales in which people donate items for which they (and possibly no one else) have no use are often called “white elephant sales.”See also: elephant, whitewhite elephant
white elephant a rare albino or pale grey variety of the Indian elephant, regarded as sacred in parts of S Asia white elephant
White ElephantAn investment, especially in real estate, that is expensive, unprofitable, and difficult to sell. An example is a house that is overbuilt for its neighborhood. A white elephant is perhaps one of least desirable investments possible.white elephantLike the legendary white elephants of India, a property that is expensive to maintain, doesn't return any particular value, and can't realistically be sold to anyone else. white elephant
Words related to white elephantnoun a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensiveRelated Wordsnoun albinic Indian elephantRelated Words- Elephas maximus
- Indian elephant
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