Here’s where a themed game comes useful. Each player brings a gift to contribute to a common pool. These stories were known in England as … ই র জ - ব ল Online অভ ধ … Only the extremely wealthy individuals in a kingdom were able to own a white elephant and in most cases, o… It was forbidden, as well, to slaughter them or make them do work. a thing that has no use and is no longer needed, although it may have cost a lot of money The new office block has become an expensive white elephant. 法, 調べた例文を記録して、 効率よく覚えましょう, Weblio英和対訳辞書はプログラムで機械的に意味や英語表現を生成しているため、不適切な項目が含まれていることもあります。ご了承くださいませ。, ウィキペディア英語版からの引用, このモジュールを今後表示しない, - Wikipedia日英京都関連文書対訳コーパス, 名詞 可算名詞としての意味・使い方, 研究社 新英和中辞典での「white elephant」の意味, Eゲイト英和辞典での「white elephant」の意味, JST科学技術用語日英対訳辞書での「white elephant」の意味, 日本語WordNet(英和)での「white elephant」の意味, 「white elephant」に関する類語一覧, EDR日英対訳辞書での「white elephant」の意味, クロスランゲージ 37分野専門語辞書での「white elephant」の意味, Weblio英語表現辞典での「white elephant」の意味, Weblio英和対訳辞書での「white elephant」の意味, Wiktionary英語版での「white elephant」の意味, Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders, ウィキペディア英語版での「white elephant」の意味, 「white elephant」を解説文に含む英和和英の用語の一覧, 英和辞書の「white elephant」の用語索引, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC-BY-SA), やっかいなもの、持て余しもの、用済みのもの. White Elephant: A white elephant is an investment whose cost of upkeep is not in line with how useful or valuable the item is. Definition of white elephant. [7] Many church bazaars held “white elephant sales” where donors could unload unwanted bric-à-brac, generating profit from the phenomenon that "one man’s trash is another man’s treasure" and the term has continued to be used in this context. In Asia elephants symbolize the divine. Later, the expression came to mean 'a burdensome possession - one that is more trouble than it is worth'. After much effort and great expense, Barnum finally acquired the animal from the King of Siam only to discover that his "white elephant" was actually dirty grey in color with a few pink spots. white elephant meaning, definition, what is white elephant: something that is completely useless, al...: Learn more. The new office block has become an expensive white elephant. A party where people (usually family, friends, or a combo of the two) get together and have a game where you unwrap, steal, and trade off presents never actually useful in real life. 31 sentence examples: 1. presents never actually useful in real life. In modern usage, it is an object, building project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc., considered expensive but without use or value. 1. a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of. Example: The London Bridge became a white elephant. When a white elephant was caught in Rhakine state in 2010, it signified the opening up of Myanmar to more democratic change that came in the following months. White Elephant Meaning: Something that is costly to obtain or maintain and provides little benefit or value. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is normally a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. [20][circular reference], Idiom – name for large constructions that are not used, This article is about the English-language idiom. In modern usage, it is an object, building project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc., considered expensive but without use or value.[1]. What's the meaning of the phrase 'A white elephant'? [5], The expressions "white elephant" and "gift of a white elephant" came into common use in the middle of the nineteenth century. [6] The phrase was attached to "white elephant swaps" and "white elephant sales" in the early twentieth century. A possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. The white elephant has an important meaning in both Hinduism and Buddhism. 2. a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its value to the owner. Hence, a white elephant is a burden. They have fair eyelashes and toenails. Synonyms for white elephant include albatross, ball and chain, burden, burthen, expensive possession, more trouble than it's worth and onus. In Siam elephants were working animals. The bridge was relocated to Havasu City Arizona, where it now White elephant gift exchange rules are rather simple. A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth. A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. 2 a : a property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit. 'Lord of the White Elephant' and the third monarch of the Konbaung dynasty). In Buddhist tradition, a white elephant was one of the Buddha’s incarnations and is seen as a sacred creation from the heavens that represents enlightenment and spiritual evolution . White elephant meaning in Bengali - শ ব তহস ত ; শ য মদ শ য শ ব তহস ত ; ; | English – Bangla & English (E2B) Online Dictionary. All Rights Reserved. He has no place to park it and can't afford the gas for it. 2. White Elephant In Dreams White elephants are a positive sign in a dream and bring in a strong spiritual message. [2] To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. Often ceremonies occur in which people while make offerings to elephants by washing and anointing them with special oils and colors during various festivals. Monarchs often exemplified their possession of white elephants in their formal titles (e.g., Hsinbyushin, lit. This idiom comes from an ancient custom in Thailand, then Siam. This expression comes from a legendary former Siamese custom whereby an albino elephant, considered sacred, could only be owned by the king. A white elephant (also albino elephant) is a rare kind of elephant, but not a distinct species. His elephant can also fly and it is called If the king was unhappy with one of his subjects, he would give them a white elephant. In the West, the term "white elephant" relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was first used in the 1600s and became widespread in the 1800s. Bob's father-in-law has given him an old Rolls Royce, but it's a real white elephant. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great. Copyright © 2021 Cross Language Inc. All Right Reserved. In China, India and Africa, the elephant is a symbol of beauty, power, dignity, intelligence and peace. Such a gift, coming from the king, could not be given away! All Rights Reserved, Copyright © Japan Science and Technology Agency. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. For actual white elephants and their cultural aspects, see, "A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture", "Two-and-a-half Idioms – the History and Etymology of 'White Elephants, "Two-and-a-Half More Idioms – "White Elephants" and Yankee Swaps", "The 10 greatest white elephants | David Shariatmadari", "Spain's white elephants – how country's airports lie empty", "State's Longest Bridge Nears Completion, But Budget Cuts May Limit Army's Ability to Use It", "Russian bridge of trouble opens to world", "New South China Mall: Tour A Ghost Mall", "World Cup: Are South Africa's stadiums white elephants? Definition of 'a white elephant' something, such as a new building, plan, or project that is a waste of money and completely useless Will the complex, constructed at some expense but never used, be regarded as a monumental folly, a great white elephant? Copyright © Benesse Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. something that costs a lot of money but has no useful purpose: The stadium is likely to become a white elephant after the championships are over. It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the recipient now had an expensive-to-maintain animal he could not give away and could not put to much practical use. Originally 'white elephants' were simply that - elephants that were white. There's this picturesque white elephant development on the Costa del [18][19] In Austria, the term "white elephant" means workers who have little or no use, but are not terminable. Copyright(C)2002-2021 National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. Those antique vases Aunt Mary gave me are white elephants. There remains the question of why the white elephants were so expensive to keep. Someone writes down the numbers equal to the number of players. 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, whi… In Hindu puranas, the god Indra has a white elephant. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English white elephant ˌwhite ˈelephant noun [countable] USELESS something that is completely useless, although it may have cost a lot of money When the theatre first opened it was widely regarded as a white elephant. When the girl comments that the hills look like white elephants and the man says he's never seen one, she answers, "No, you wouldn't have." The term “white elephant” has its origins traced to East Asia where populations of Asian elephants have lived closely with a human settlement for many centuries. The cost of feeding and caring for the elephant was immense and would surely ruin the subject. [9][10] Examples include prestigious but uneconomic infrastructure projects such as airports,[11] dams,[12] bridges,[13][14] shopping malls[15] and football stadiums built for the FIFA World Cup. An unwanted or useless item, as in The cottage at the lake had become a real white elephanttoo 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. [1850–55; from the tale that the King of Siam would award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the …
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