white elephant meaning

The origins of the phrase come from Siam modern-day Thailand. Here are the basic rules.

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Video shows what white elephant means.

. It is an allusion to a practice once used by the King of Siam. Definition of white elephant. Today the term white elephant denotes any burdensome expensive and useless possession that is much more trouble than it is worth. The term white elephant refers to an extravagant impractical gift that cannot be easily disposed of.

In Hills Like White Elephants it symbolizes Jigs. The White Elephant game is played by a lot of different rulesets some dead simple and others confusingly elaborate. COMMON If you describe something such as a new building or project as a white elephant you mean that it has cost a lot of money but is completely useless. A white elephant is a burdensome asset property or investment whose cost of upkeep is not in line with its usefulness or value.

Something that has cost a lot of money but has no useful purpose 2. You likely love animals and enjoy looking after babies. It also goes by Yankee Swap Dirty Santa and a plethora of other names. A possession that is useless or troublesome especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of.

The definition of a white elephant is a possession that is very expensive to maintain or an article that is no longer wanted by the owner. A family home that you feel you have to keep but that is very expensive to maintain is an example of a white elephant. White Elephant Symbolism Meaning. The white elephant was also a revered symbol in Thai and Buddhist cultures so you couldnt get away with simply letting it go or regifting it.

Trinkets strange knick knacks unidentifiable kitchen items and the like are typical white elephants and guests are asked to wrap them nicely and to leave no identifying markings on the presents. A huge white elephant of a house that needed ten thousand spent on it. Famous white elephants include Olympic Stadium in Montreal the former Millennium. A possession that is unwanted or is a financial burden.

Elephants have become part of Thai culture. Traditionally a white elephant present is something unusual somewhat useless or inconvenient. An Asian elephant of a pale color that is sometimes venerated in India Sri Lanka Thailand and Myanmar. More recently the term has also been used to describe any doomed enterprise on which large sums of money are spent and which is then abandoned.

The whole complex was a white elephant constructed at enormous expense but never used. A white elephant is a gift that turns out to be more like a burden. Purity means different things to different people but the white elephant is mostly considered to symbolize a pure heart and mind. This animal also symbolizes royalty justice power peace and prosperity.

The phrase is said to come from the historic practice of the King of Siam now Thailand giving rare albino elephants to courtiers who had displeased him so that they might be ruined by the animals upkeep costs. The white elephant is associated closely with purity. Later the expression came to mean a burdensome possession - one that is more trouble than it is worth. As reported by The Culture Trip the main reason Thailand makes the elephant a symbol of the country is that the animal is considered strong and long life.

The term derives from the old Thai custom of gifting rare. The wave of urban renewal in the 1950s and 60s gave us the devastated inner cities of today and many projects become. Originally white elephants were simply that - elephants that were white. Term referring to something not particularly useful that has very high cost of upkeep.

Being pure of heart means you are loving and open to meeting and being around new people and things. A White Elephant Gift Exchange is a popular Christmas event where people vie to walk away with the best present. Something that has cost a.

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