1. white elephant - Noun
2. white elephant - Phrase
An albino elephant.
(idiomatic) A possession that is unwanted or is a financial burden; an unprofitable investment.
Source: en.wiktionary.orgEvery small community has one: a treasured building that brings people together for town meetings, yoga classes, bingo games, local theatre, white elephant sales - and the list goes on. Source: Internet
If the private enterprises at the spaceport—all but one of them startup ventures with no corporate backing and as yet only a handful of employees—flop, New Mexico will have already paid for a multimillion-dollar white elephant in the middle of nowhere. Source: Internet
The declining numbers have attracted the attentions of lawmakers, including Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, who said at the hearing he is concerned the national museum in Chiayi could become a white elephant. Source: Internet
This year’s festival was a fun-filled day with many stalls including collectibles, a large selection of books, records, puzzles, sewing, plants, second-hand and new clothing as well as a white elephant and a bygones stall. Source: Internet
In the West, the term "white elephant" relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was popularized following P. T. Barnum 's experience with an elephant named Toung Taloung that he billed as the "Sacred White Elephant of Burma". Source: Internet
“It's a white elephant with a lot of needs,” one audience member said. Source: Internet