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A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its capital (acquisition) and/or operational (maintenance) costs.^[1]

Historical background

The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand (Siam), Laos and Cambodia.^[2] To possess a white elephant was regarded—and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma—as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great. Monarchs often exemplified their possession of white elephants in their formal titles (e.g., Hsinbyushin, lit. 'Lord of the White Elephant' and the third monarch of the Konbaung dynasty).^[3] Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the recipient now had an animal that was expensive to maintain, could not be given away, and could not be put to much practical use.

In the West, the term "white elephant", relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was first used in the 17th century and became widespread in the 19th century.^[4] According to one source it was popularized following P. T. Barnum's experience with an elephant named Toung Taloung that he billed as the "Sacred White Elephant of Burma". After much effort and great expense, Barnum finally acquired the animal from the King of Siam only to discover that his "white elephant" was actually dirty grey in color with a few pink spots.^[5]

The expressions "white elephant" and "gift of a white elephant" came into common use in the middle of the nineteenth century.^[6] The phrase was attached to "white elephant swaps" and "white elephant sales" in the early twentieth century.^[7] Many church bazaars held "white elephant sales" where donors could unload unwanted bric-à-brac, generating profit from the phenomenon that "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and the term has continued to be used in this context.^[8]

Modern usage

In modern usage, the term now often refers in addition to an extremely expensive building project that fails to deliver on its function or becomes very costly to maintain.^[9]^[10]

Examples include prestigious but uneconomic infrastructure projects such as airports,^[11] dams,^[12] bridges,^[13]^[14] shopping malls^[15] and football stadiums.^[16]^[17] The American Oakland Athletics baseball team has used a white elephant as a symbol and usually its main or alternate logo since 1902, originally in sarcastic defiance of John McGraw's 1902 characterization of the new team as a "white elephant".^[18] The Al Maktoum International Airport on the outskirts of Dubai has also been named a white elephant.^[19] Examples of rail-related white elephants include in Japan, where it was feared that the Yurikamome at Odaiba would end up as a multibillion-yen white elephant,^[20] and in Singapore, paper cutouts of white elephants were placed next to the completed but unopened Buangkok MRT station on the North East Line in 2005, in protest at its non-opening. The station eventually opened the following year.^[21] White Elephant is also a name of a former Polish astronomical observatory built in the Carpathian Mountains in 1938 (now Ukraine).

The term has also been applied to outdated or underperforming military projects like the U.S. Navy's Alaska-class cruiser.^[22]^[23] In Austria, the term "white elephant" means workers who have little or no use, but cannot be dismissed.^[24]^{[circular reference]}

References

^ "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
^ "Royal Elephant Stable" Archived 9 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Thai Elephant Conservation Center.
^ Leider, Jacques P. (December 2011). "A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture". Journal of Burma Studies. 15 (2). doi:10.1353/jbs.2011.0012. S2CID 153995925.
^ Ammer, Christine (2013). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547677538.
^ Harding, Les (1999). Elephant Story: Jumbo and P.T. Barnum Under the Big Top. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 110. ISBN 0786406321.
^ Brown, Peter Jensen (23 June 2014). "Two-and-a-half Idioms – the History and Etymology of 'White Elephants'". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
^ Brown, Peter Jensen (28 June 2014). "Two-and-a-Half More Idioms – "White Elephants" and Yankee Swaps". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
^ Roberta Jeeves, White Elephant Rules. Archived 4 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "White elephants and worthwhile causes". 5 June 2003. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2020 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
^ Shariatmadari, David (18 July 2013). "The 10 greatest white elephants | David Shariatmadari". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
^ Govan, Fiona (5 October 2011). "Spain's white elephants – how country's airports lie empty". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
^ "Dams as white elephants" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
^ Tim Ellis (8 November 2013). "State's Longest Bridge Nears Completion, But Budget Cuts May Limit Army's Ability to Use It". KUAC. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
^ "Russian bridge of trouble opens to world". The New Zealand Herald.
^ Taylor, Adam (5 March 2013). "New South China Mall: Tour A Ghost Mall". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
^ Guardian Online. Archived 6 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Guardian Article regarding Stadio delle Alpi March 2006.
^ "World Cup: Are South Africa's stadiums white elephants? – The Sentinel". Tucsonsentinel.com. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
^ John Odell. "The Elephant in the Room". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ "After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies". Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ Iwata, Kazuaki (June 1998). "Tokyo's New Waterfront Transit System" (PDF). Japan Rail and Transport Review. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
^ "Residents Bring Up 'White Elephant' Buangkok MRT During Minister's Visit". SafeTrolley. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
^ Morison, Samuel Loring; Morison, Samuel Eliot; Polmar, Norman (2005). Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World: From 1860 to the Present. ABC-CLIO. p. 85. ISBN 1-85109-857-7.
^ "Looking more like white elephant". Agence France-Presse. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
^ de:Weißer Elefant#Redewendung

External links

Media related to White elephants at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.

[2] "Royal Elephant Stable" Archived 9 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Thai Elephant Conservation Center.

[leider-3] Leider, Jacques P. (December 2011). "A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture". Journal of Burma Studies. 15 (2). doi:10.1353/jbs.2011.0012. S2CID 153995925.

[4] Ammer, Christine (2013). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547677538.

[5] Harding, Les (1999). Elephant Story: Jumbo and P.T. Barnum Under the Big Top. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 110. ISBN 0786406321.

[6] Brown, Peter Jensen (23 June 2014). "Two-and-a-half Idioms – the History and Etymology of 'White Elephants'". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2014.

[7] Brown, Peter Jensen (28 June 2014). "Two-and-a-Half More Idioms – "White Elephants" and Yankee Swaps". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2014.

[8] Roberta Jeeves, White Elephant Rules. Archived 4 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine.

[9] "White elephants and worthwhile causes". 5 June 2003. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2020 – via news.bbc.co.uk.

[10] Shariatmadari, David (18 July 2013). "The 10 greatest white elephants | David Shariatmadari". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.

[11] Govan, Fiona (5 October 2011). "Spain's white elephants – how country's airports lie empty". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.

[12] "Dams as white elephants" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.

[13] Tim Ellis (8 November 2013). "State's Longest Bridge Nears Completion, But Budget Cuts May Limit Army's Ability to Use It". KUAC. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2014.

[14] "Russian bridge of trouble opens to world". The New Zealand Herald.

[businessinsider1-15] Taylor, Adam (5 March 2013). "New South China Mall: Tour A Ghost Mall". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.

[Guardian_Online_March_2006-16] Guardian Online. Archived 6 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Guardian Article regarding Stadio delle Alpi March 2006.

[17] "World Cup: Are South Africa's stadiums white elephants? – The Sentinel". Tucsonsentinel.com. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.

[18] John Odell. "The Elephant in the Room". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.

[19] "After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies". Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.

[:0-20] Iwata, Kazuaki (June 1998). "Tokyo's New Waterfront Transit System" (PDF). Japan Rail and Transport Review. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.

[21] "Residents Bring Up 'White Elephant' Buangkok MRT During Minister's Visit". SafeTrolley. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.

[22] Morison, Samuel Loring; Morison, Samuel Eliot; Polmar, Norman (2005). Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World: From 1860 to the Present. ABC-CLIO. p. 85. ISBN 1-85109-857-7.

[23] "Looking more like white elephant". Agence France-Presse. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.

[24] :Weißer Elefant#Redewendung

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|Idiom – name for large constructions that are not used}}
+{{Short description|Idiom for impractical possessions that are expensive to maintain but cannot be disposed of}}
+{{otheruses}}
-{{About|the English-language idiom|actual white elephants and their cultural aspects|White elephant (animal)|other uses}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
-[[File:White Elephant Yangon.JPG|thumb|right|300px|A white elephant outside [[Yangon]] in 2013]]<!--White elephants aren't perfectly white, do not remove this image for that reason-->
-A '''white elephant''' is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its Capital (acquisition) and/or Operational (maintenance) costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/white%2Belephant |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=oxforddictionaries.com |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref>
+A '''white elephant''' is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its capital (acquisition) and/or operational (maintenance) costs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/white%2Belephant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510064252/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/white%2Belephant |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2013 |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=oxforddictionaries.com |access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref>
+==Historical background==
-==Background==
+{{see also|White elephant (animal)}}
 [[File:Lord White Elephant.jpg|thumb|A white elephant at the [[Amarapura]] Palace in 1855]]
 [[File:The White Elephant, Punch 103.png|thumb|The [[Imperial British East Africa Company|British East Africa Company]] came to regard Uganda as a white elephant when internal conflict made administration of the territory impossible.]]
-The term derives from the sacred [[White elephant (animal)|white elephants]] kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]].<ref>[http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/royalstable.html "Royal Elephant Stable"]. Thai Elephant Conservation Center.</ref> To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great. Monarchs often exemplified their possession of white elephants in their formal titles (e.g., [[Hsinbyushin]], {{lit|Lord of the White Elephant}} and the third monarch of the [[Konbaung dynasty]]).<ref name="leider">{{cite journal|last=Leider|first=Jacques P.|date=December 2011|title=A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture|journal=Journal of Burma Studies|volume=15|issue=2|doi=10.1353/jbs.2011.0012|s2cid=153995925|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_burma_studies/v015/15.2.leider.html}}</ref> Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the recipient now had an expensive-to-maintain animal he could not give away and could not put to much practical use.
+The term derives from the sacred [[White elephant (animal)|white elephants]] kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in [[Burma]], [[Thailand]] (Siam), [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]].<ref>[http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/royalstable.html "Royal Elephant Stable"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309020106/http://www.thailandelephant.org/en/royalstable.html |date=9 March 2021 }}. Thai Elephant Conservation Center.</ref> To possess a white elephant was regarded—and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma—as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The opulence expected of anyone who owned a beast of such stature was great. Monarchs often exemplified their possession of white elephants in their formal titles (e.g., [[Hsinbyushin]], {{lit|Lord of the White Elephant}} and the third monarch of the [[Konbaung dynasty]]).<ref name="leider">{{cite journal|last=Leider|first=Jacques P.|date=December 2011|title=A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture|journal=Journal of Burma Studies|volume=15|issue=2|doi=10.1353/jbs.2011.0012|s2cid=153995925|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_burma_studies/v015/15.2.leider.html}}</ref> Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the recipient now had an animal that was expensive to maintain, could not be given away, and could not be put to much practical use.
-In the West, the term "white elephant", relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was first used in the 1600s and became widespread in the 1800s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ammer|first1=Christine|title=The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition|date=2013|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0547677538|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QuEiIMaBt0C&pg=PA495}}</ref> According to one source it was popularized following [[P. T. Barnum]]'s experience with an elephant named ''Toung Taloung'' that he billed as the "Sacred White Elephant of Burma".  After much effort and great expense, Barnum finally acquired the animal from the King of Siam only to discover that his "white elephant" was actually dirty grey in color with a few pink spots.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harding|first1=Les|title=Elephant Story: Jumbo and P.T. Barnum Under the Big Top|date=1999|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0786406321|page=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDllhLZcF0IC&pg=PA110}}</ref>
+In the West, the term "white elephant", relating to an expensive burden that fails to meet expectations, was first used in the 17th century and became widespread in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ammer|first1=Christine|title=The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition|date=2013|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0547677538|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QuEiIMaBt0C&pg=PA495}}</ref> According to one source it was popularized following [[P. T. Barnum]]'s experience with an elephant named ''Toung Taloung'' that he billed as the "Sacred White Elephant of Burma".  After much effort and great expense, Barnum finally acquired the animal from the King of Siam only to discover that his "white elephant" was actually dirty grey in color with a few pink spots.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harding|first1=Les|title=Elephant Story: Jumbo and P.T. Barnum Under the Big Top|date=1999|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0786406321|page=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDllhLZcF0IC&pg=PA110}}</ref>
-The expressions "white elephant" and "gift of a white elephant" came into common use in the middle of the nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=Two-and-a-half Idioms – the History and Etymology of 'White Elephants' |url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-idioms-history-and.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog|access-date=25 June 2014}}</ref> The phrase was attached to "white elephant swaps" and "white elephant sales" in the early twentieth century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=Two-and-a-Half More Idioms – "White Elephants" and Yankee Swaps|url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-more-idioms-white.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog|access-date=3 July 2014}}</ref>  Many church bazaars held “[[white elephant sale]]s” where donors could unload unwanted [[bric-à-brac]], generating profit from the phenomenon that "one man’s trash is another man’s treasure" and the term has continued to be used in this context.<ref>Roberta Jeeves, [https://www.whiteelephantrules.com/white-elephant-gift-around-house White Elephant Rules]</ref>
+The expressions "white elephant" and "gift of a white elephant" came into common use in the middle of the nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=Two-and-a-half Idioms – the History and Etymology of 'White Elephants'|url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-idioms-history-and.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog|date=23 June 2014|access-date=25 June 2014|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301021211/https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-idioms-history-and.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The phrase was attached to "white elephant swaps" and "white elephant sales" in the early twentieth century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=Two-and-a-Half More Idioms – "White Elephants" and Yankee Swaps|url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-more-idioms-white.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History Blog|date=28 June 2014|access-date=3 July 2014|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110506/https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/06/two-and-half-more-idioms-white.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Many church bazaars held "[[white elephant sale]]s" where donors could unload unwanted [[bric-à-brac]], generating profit from the phenomenon that "one man's trash is another man's treasure" and the term has continued to be used in this context.<ref>Roberta Jeeves, [https://www.whiteelephantrules.com/white-elephant-gift-around-house White Elephant Rules]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004091601/https://www.whiteelephantrules.com/white-elephant-gift-around-house/ |date=4 October 2017 }}.</ref>
+=== Modern usage ===
-In modern usage, the term now often refers in addition to an extremely expensive building project that fails to deliver on its function or becomes very costly to maintain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2872499.stm|title=White elephants and worthwhile causes|date=5 June 2003|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/18/white-elephants-10-greatest-in-tempo|title=The 10 greatest white elephants &#124; David Shariatmadari|first=David|last=Shariatmadari|date=18 July 2013|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> Examples include prestigious but uneconomic infrastructure projects such as airports,<ref>{{cite news|last=Govan |first=Fiona |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8807723/Spains-white-elephants-how-countrys-airports-lie-empty.html# |title=Spain's white elephants – how country's airports lie empty |work=The Daily Telegraph |date= 5 October 2011 |access-date=7 January 2013 |location=London}}</ref> dams,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/African%20Dams%20Briefings%202006.pdf |title=Dams as white elephants |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref> bridges,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://fm.kuac.org/post/state-s-longest-bridge-nears-completion-budget-cuts-may-limit-army-s-ability-use-it| date = November 8, 2013| publisher = KUAC | title = State's Longest Bridge Nears Completion, But Budget Cuts May Limit Army's Ability to Use It| author = Tim Ellis | access-date = August 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10830905.html|title=Russian bridge of trouble opens to world | work=The New Zealand Herald}}</ref> shopping malls<ref name="businessinsider1">{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Taylor |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/new-south-china-mall-tour-a-ghost-mall-2013-3?op=1 |title=New South China Mall: Tour A Ghost Mall |website=Business Insider |date=5 March 2013 |access-date=14 March 2013}}</ref> and football stadiums built for the [[FIFA World Cup]].<ref name="Guardian Online March 2006">[http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1734573,00.html Guardian Online] – Guardian Article regarding Stadio delle Alpi March 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/sports/report/070710_worldcup_stadiums/ |title=World Cup: Are South Africa's stadiums white elephants? – The Sentinel |publisher=Tucsonsentinel.com |date=7 July 2010 |access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref> The American [[Oakland Athletics]] baseball team has used a white elephant as a symbol and usually its main or alternate logo since 1902, originally in sarcastic defiance of [[John McGraw]]'s 1902 characterization of the new team as a "white elephant".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/elephant-in-the-room |title=The Elephant in the Room |author=John Odell |publisher=Baseball Hall of Fame |accessdate=April 18, 2021}}</ref>
+In modern usage, the term now often refers in addition to an extremely expensive building project that fails to deliver on its function or becomes very costly to maintain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2872499.stm|title=White elephants and worthwhile causes|date=5 June 2003|via=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=12 September 2020|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123061443/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2872499.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/18/white-elephants-10-greatest-in-tempo|title=The 10 greatest white elephants &#124; David Shariatmadari|first=David|last=Shariatmadari|newspaper=The Guardian|date=18 July 2013|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=4 January 2017|archive-date=28 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728070138/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/18/white-elephants-10-greatest-in-tempo|url-status=live}}</ref>
+Examples include prestigious but uneconomic infrastructure projects such as airports,<ref>{{cite news |last=Govan |first=Fiona |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8807723/Spains-white-elephants-how-countrys-airports-lie-empty.html |title=Spain's white elephants – how country's airports lie empty |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=5 October 2011 |access-date=7 January 2013 |location=London |archive-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825213045/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8807723/Spains-white-elephants-how-countrys-airports-lie-empty.html |url-status=live }}</ref> dams,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/African%20Dams%20Briefings%202006.pdf |title=Dams as white elephants |access-date=14 April 2011 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002141159/http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/African%20Dams%20Briefings%202006.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> bridges,<ref>{{cite news| url = http://fm.kuac.org/post/state-s-longest-bridge-nears-completion-budget-cuts-may-limit-army-s-ability-use-it| date = November 8, 2013| publisher = KUAC| title = State's Longest Bridge Nears Completion, But Budget Cuts May Limit Army's Ability to Use It| author = Tim Ellis| access-date = August 5, 2014| archive-date = 4 October 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171004085043/http://fm.kuac.org/post/state-s-longest-bridge-nears-completion-budget-cuts-may-limit-army-s-ability-use-it| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10830905.html|title=Russian bridge of trouble opens to world | work=The New Zealand Herald}}</ref> shopping malls<ref name="businessinsider1">{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Taylor |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/new-south-china-mall-tour-a-ghost-mall-2013-3?op=1 |title=New South China Mall: Tour A Ghost Mall |website=Business Insider |date=5 March 2013 |access-date=14 March 2013 |archive-date=9 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309020001/http://www.businessinsider.com/new-south-china-mall-tour-a-ghost-mall-2013-3?op=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and football stadiums.<ref name="Guardian Online March 2006">[http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1734573,00.html Guardian Online]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806002958/http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1734573,00.html |date=6 August 2007 }} – Guardian Article regarding Stadio delle Alpi March 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/sports/report/070710_worldcup_stadiums/ |title=World Cup: Are South Africa's stadiums white elephants? – The Sentinel |publisher=Tucsonsentinel.com |date=7 July 2010 |access-date=14 April 2011 |archive-date=8 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108033534/http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/sports/report/070710_worldcup_stadiums |url-status=live }}</ref> The American [[Oakland Athletics]] baseball team has used a white elephant as a symbol and usually its main or alternate logo since 1902, originally in sarcastic defiance of [[John McGraw]]'s 1902 characterization of the new team as a "white elephant".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/elephant-in-the-room |title=The Elephant in the Room |author=John Odell |publisher=Baseball Hall of Fame |accessdate=April 18, 2021 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418203249/https://baseballhall.org/discover/elephant-in-the-room |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Al Maktoum International Airport]] on the outskirts of Dubai has also been named a white elephant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/after-boris-island-10-other-airport-follies/114351.article|title=After 'Boris Island': 10 other airport follies|access-date=12 February 2022|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630165830/https://www.flightglobal.com/after-boris-island-10-other-airport-follies/114351.article|url-status=live}}</ref> Examples of rail-related white elephants include in Japan, where it was feared that the [[Yurikamome]] at [[Odaiba]] would end up as a multibillion-yen white elephant,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Iwata |first=Kazuaki |date=June 1998 |title=Tokyo's New Waterfront Transit System |url=https://www.ejrcf.or.jp/jrtr/jrtr16/pdf/f15_iwata.pdf |publisher=Japan Rail and Transport Review |access-date=14 May 2023 |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207003316/http://www.ejrcf.or.jp/jrtr/jrtr16/pdf/f15_iwata.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and in Singapore, paper cutouts of white elephants were placed next to the completed but unopened [[Buangkok MRT station]] on the [[North East MRT Line|North East Line]] in 2005, in protest at its non-opening. The station eventually opened the following year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.safetrolley.com/residents-bring-up-white-elephant-buangkok-mrt/ |title=Residents Bring Up 'White Elephant' Buangkok MRT During Minister's Visit |publisher=SafeTrolley |date=7 November 2020 |accessdate=2022-08-02 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703092740/https://www.safetrolley.com/residents-bring-up-white-elephant-buangkok-mrt/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Biały Słoń|White Elephant]] is also a name of a former Polish astronomical observatory built in the [[Carpathian Mountains]] in 1938 (now Ukraine).
-The term has also been applied to outdated or underperforming military projects like the U.S. Navy's [[Alaska-class cruiser|''Alaska''-class cruiser]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Morison, Samuel Loring |author2=Morison, Samuel Eliot |author3=Polmar, Norman | title=Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World: From 1860 to the Present |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |isbn=1-85109-857-7 |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Looking more like white elephant |publisher=Agence France-Presse |date=14 January 2011 |url=http://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-looking-more-like-white-elephant-31347/ |access-date=17 April 2011}}</ref> In [[Austria]], the term "white elephant" means workers who have little or no use, but are not terminable.<ref>[[:de:Weißer Elefant#Redewendung]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=December 2017}}
+The term has also been applied to outdated or underperforming military projects like the U.S. Navy's [[Alaska-class cruiser|''Alaska''-class cruiser]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Morison, Samuel Loring |author2=Morison, Samuel Eliot |author3=Polmar, Norman | title=Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World: From 1860 to the Present |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2005 |isbn=1-85109-857-7 |page=85}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Looking more like white elephant |publisher=Agence France-Presse |date=14 January 2011 |url=http://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-looking-more-like-white-elephant-31347/ |access-date=17 April 2011 |archive-date=17 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317131531/http://www.defencetalk.com/f-35-looking-more-like-white-elephant-31347/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Austria]], the term "white elephant" means workers who have little or no use, but cannot be dismissed.<ref>[[:de:Weißer Elefant#Redewendung]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=December 2017}}
 ==See also==
 * [[White elephant gift exchange]]
+* [[Hills Like White Elephants]]
 * [[Bridge to nowhere]]
 * [[Escalation of commitment]] (sunk cost fallacy)

Revision as of 10:47, 6 June 2024

Historical background

Modern usage

See also

References

Further reading

External links