Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: White Elephant |
White ElephantNoun1. A valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive. 2. Albinic Indian elephant; rare and sometimes venerated in east Asia. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Finance | Slang for property or a business that is so costly to maintain or operate that it is impossible to make a profit. (references) |
Literature | White Elephant King of the White Elephant. The proudest title borne by the kings of Ava and Siam. In Ava the white elephant bears the title of `lord," and has a minister of high rank to superintend his household. The land of the White Elephant. Siam. To have a white elephant to keep. To have an expensive and unprofitable dignity to support, or a pet article to take care of. For example, a person moving is determined to keep a pet carpet, and therefore hires his house to fit his carpet. The King of Siam makes a present of a white elephant to such of his courtiers as he wishes to ruin. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In Thailand, white elephants are sacred and a symbol of royal power; all those discovered are presented to the king (usually this is ceremonial -- they are not taken into captivity) and the more white elephants the king has, the greater his standing. The current king Bhumibol Adulyadej owns ten, a great achievement, since three is considered great. This is probably more due to modern communications than anything else, though considering the creatures' rareity in other countries, it is still impressive. In the past, white elephants have been given as gifts to the king's friends and allies. The animals needed a lot of taking care of and, being sacred, could not be put to work, so to be taken care of, only the monarch (or the very rich) could afford them, so were a great financial burden on the recipient.
Because of this, the term "white elephant" came, in English, to mean a thing which is more trouble than it is worth, or has outlived its usefulness, to the person who has it. While the item may be useful to others, its current owner would usually be glad to be rid of it. By reason of this, commercially, a "white elephant" might be available to purchase at a very favorable price.
An example of such an item might be a large, old house, occupied by an elderly widow who has neither the physical prowess nor the funds to keep it up any longer. The widow might sell the home at well below its ordinary market value because it is a burden to her. The buyer, likely someone who has use for a large home, would get a good bargain.
According to one story, white elephants were sometimes given as a present to some enemy (often a lesser noble with whom the king was displeased). The unfortunate recipient, unable to make any profit of it, and obliged to take care of it, would suffer bankruptcy and might even die.
See also: Hanno
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "White elephant."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Bane | Noun: bane, curse; evil; hurtfulness; (badness); painfulness; (cause of pain); scourge; (punishment); damnosa hereditas; white elephant. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: White Elephant |
| Specialty definitions using "white elephant": Arapadam ♦ Fo-hi. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Sidney's White Elephant (1963) White Elephant (1928) Charlie's White Elephant (1916) White Elephant (1983) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Bangkok - 2 men on sacred white elephant; palace wall in background. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
hills like white elephant | 142 |
white elephant | 135 |
white elephant nantucket | 32 |
white elephant gift | 11 |
white elephant sale | 4 |
white elephant picture | 2 |
white elephant resort | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "white elephant"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | objekt i kushtueshëm pa shumë dobi, gjë e çmuar që të hap telashe. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | فيل أبيض, ملك عديم القيمة. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | създаващо главоболие притежание, създаващо неудобство притежание, нещо скъпо но безполезно, нежелано нещо (tares). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | zbyteèná vìc. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | objet sans utilité, canard boiteux. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κάτι ακριβόν και δυσβάστακτον. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | כס חסר תועלת. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | fehér elefánt. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | cattedrale nel deserto. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 長物 (something long, useless things). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ちょうぶつ (something long, useless things). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | itewhay elephantay elefante branco. (various references) бесполезная вещь. (various references) neuspeo poduhvat, nepotreban posed, beli slon. (various references) elefante blanco, cosa costosa y poco útil. (various references) värdelös sak, krimskrams (frills, kitsch, knick-knacks, tat), felinvestering, dyrbar men fullständligt onödig sak. (various references) masraflı hediye, gereksiz eşya (lumber), değerli ama işe yaramayan mülk, beyaz fil, büyük boy kâğıt (foolscap). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-e-h-h-i-l-n-p-t-t-w" | |
-4 letters: nephelite. | |
-5 letters: elaphine, elephant, patentee, petaline, phthalin, pinwheel, tapeline, telepath, tinplate. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Anagrams 10. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
