white elephant

英 [ˌwaɪt ˈelɪfənt]

美 [ˌwaɪt ˈelɪfənt]

n.  昂贵而无用之物

牛津词典

noun

• 昂贵而无用之物
  a thing that is useless and no longer needed, although it may have cost a lot of money
  1. The new office block has become an expensive white elephant.
     这座新办公大楼成了昂贵的摆设。

柯林斯词典

• N-COUNT 昂贵而无用的东西;华而不实的东西
  If you describe something as awhite elephant, you mean that it is a waste of money because it is completely useless.
  1. The pavilion has become a £4 million steel and glass white elephant.
     这个耗资400万英镑、用钢与玻璃所构筑起的亭子已经成了一个华而不实的摆设。

英英释义

noun

• albinic Indian elephant
• a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive

双语例句

• His collection of stamps came to the hammer yesterday There's a white elephant sale today.
  他的集邮品昨日被拍卖。今天有珍品要廉价拍卖。
• The new opera house will be a white elephant: it is too small for proper opera productions, and no large opera company will want to use it.
  这座新剧场将是无用而赘的东西：演出大型歌剧，它太小了，所以没有一家歌剧团愿意用它。
• In Thailand and India, a white elephant is regarded as a sacred animal.
  在泰国和印度，白象被视为神圣的动物。
• The angel figurine reminded me of the white elephant gift exchange game that we play every year.
  天使小雕像使我想起了我们每年都会玩的“白象礼物交换游戏”；
• Above, Buddhist and Hindu deities are showering the two leaders with blessings; a white elephant and a dragon on their sides depict Sino-India cultural symmetry.
  画的上方是佛教和印度教的神，他们给两国领导人送上祝福；白色的大象和两侧的龙显示了中印度文化的对称性。
• A motor-car would be a white elephant to him, because he can't drive it.
  摩托车对他一点用都没有，因为他不会驾驶。
• That super size desk is a white elephant to his room.
  那张他房间里的超大书桌很大而无当。
• There's a white elephant sale today.
  今天有珍品要廉价拍卖。
• Seeking the Hidden Iceberg& An Interpretation of Hills Like White Elephant from Pragmatic Perspective;
  探寻隐藏的冰山&语用学视角解读《白象似的群山》
• White Elephant Gift Exchange: This is a gift exchange where everyone brings a gift, or just something around the house, that they didn't much care for.
  白象礼品交换：这个交换办法是这样的，每人都带来一件礼物或只是家里不太喜欢的某样东西来交换。