white elephant
noun
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The real white elephant (the kind with a trunk) is a pale pachyderm that has long been an object of veneration in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar. Too revered to be a beast of burden, the white elephant earned a reputation as a burdensome beast—one that required constant care and feeding but never brought a single cent (or paisa or satang or pya) to its owner. One story has it that the kings of Siam (the old name for Thailand) gave white elephants as gifts to those they wished to ruin, hoping that the cost of maintaining the voracious but sacred mammal would drive its new owner to the poorhouse.
Examples of white elephant in a Sentence
Jenifer Calle, Glamour, 21 Oct. 2024
Similar to white elephant and Dirty Santa gift exchanges, Yankee swaps typically have a low price cap.
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 11 Oct. 2024
The SunRail system was and always will be a white elephant that simply costs more than its actual value to the taxpayers.
—Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2024
Once the pair are settled in, Kim poses in an all-white outfit and shares a mini tour of the matching white elephant statues and decor at the hotel.
—Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 12 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“White elephant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20elephant. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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