English · Idiom Historical

a white elephant

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Some possession the expense or responsibility of which is more than it is worth.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

sở hữu gây tốn kém

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Black & white Elephants Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “a white elephant” mean?

Some possession the expense or responsibility of which is more than it is worth.

Is “a white elephant” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time