| 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 n.
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White Elephant
Any investment that nobody wants because it is unprofitable.
Investopedia Commentary
The term 'White Elephant' is derived from Thailand, where an Albino (white) elephant was given to unfavored people by the ruler. Because these elephants were sacred and not permitted to work, it was a burden to the owner as it would eat up all the owner's money until he/she became destitute.
See also: Falling Knife
white elephant
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.