white elephant en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
In Siam, elephants were working animals. However, white (albino) elephants were considered sacred and therefore were not to be put to work. The owner was then left to feed the elephant but could get no work from it. It is said that the King of Siam used to make a present of a white elephant to courtiers he wanted to ruin.
Meanings
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(figuratively) A possession that is unwanted or is a financial burden; an unprofitable investment.
South Australia's "white elephant" was really going to prove a valuable possession after all!
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 140:In your story about Chinese success, you spend a lot of time on the shadow side of these big projects. Some of these projects look like white elephants. They look like airports built when there aren’t enough people flying or apartment blocks built that lots of people don’t want to live in.
2025 September 4, Ross Douthat, “This Is Why America Is Losing to China”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:Some of the stadiums being built for the World Cup soccer tournament, scheduled for next year, have also been criticized for delays and cost overruns, and have become subjects of derision as protesters question whether they will become white elephants.
2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Jun 2013:
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(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of white elephant exchange.
alt of white elephant exchange
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see white, elephant.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| white elephants | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
white elephant gift · white elephant sale · white elephant exchange
Relateds
Translations (26)
he פִּיל לָבָן (an albino elephant) · te ఐరావతం (an albino elephant) · yue 大白象 (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · pl biały słoń (an albino elephant) · de nutzloser Gegenstand (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · ru бе́лый слон (an albino elephant) · tr beyaz fil (an albino elephant) · de Fehlinvestition (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · es elefante blanco (an albino elephant) · fr éléphant blanc (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · ms gajah putih (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · pa ਸਫ਼ੈਦ ਹਾਥੀ (an albino elephant) · it elefante bianco (an albino elephant) · th ช้างเผือก (an albino elephant) · mr सफेद हत्ती (an albino elephant) · pt elefante branco (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · id gajah putih (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · de finanzielle Last (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · fr éléphant blanc (an albino elephant) · cmn 大白象 (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · pt elefante branco (an albino elephant) · ru чемода́н без ру́чки (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · tl puting elepante (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · de lästiger Besitz (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment) · de Weisser Elefant (an albino elephant) · de nutzloser Besitz (unwanted possession, financial burden, unprofitable investment)