white elephant

noun

1. a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of:

   Our Victorian bric-a-brac and furniture were white elephants.

2. a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its usefulness or value to the owner:

   When he bought the mansion he didn't know it was going to be such a white elephant.

3. an abnormally whitish or pale elephant, usually found in Thailand; an albino elephant.

white elephant

noun

1. 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 elephant

1. An unwanted or financially burdensome possession, or a project that turns out to be of limited value: “The new office building turned out to be a white elephant once the company decided to move its headquarters.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of white elephant¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from the perhaps apocryphal tale that the King of Siam would award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the upkeep of which would ruin the courtier

Idioms and Phrases

An 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.

Example Sentences

London had to be mindful, not only of the public nature of the costs and the desire to not have white elephants, but of the promises that were made to inspire a generation.

From BBC

According to Buddhist lore, when she conceived, the queen dreamed that an auspicious white elephant entered her womb.

From Seattle Times

But the IOC is sensitive about spiraling costs and potential white elephant projects, so is encouraging local organizers to use venues in other countries.

From Seattle Times

The IOC is sensitive about spiraling costs and potential white elephant projects, so encourages local organizers to use venues in other countries.

From Seattle Times

Citing the need to constantly repaint its white walls and repair its air conditioning, all while bolstering security, he called it an unsustainable “white elephant.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• albatross
• encumbrance