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

• 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。
• Haagen test is that large glass of the "white elephant" problem?
  哈根达斯测试的是，大型玻璃的“白象”问题？
• 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。
• 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。
• Jan's factory is an absolute white elephant.
  简的那个工厂成了一个大包袱。
• That would be a white elephant to me.
  那东西对我来说又贵又没用。
• His newly employed woman servant was extremely lazy and ate a lot, no more than a white elephant.
  他新雇来的女佣人懒得出奇，饭量倒很大，真是一个无用而又累赘的东西。
• 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。
• 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》
• The car is a white elephant for me.
  这辆小汽车对我来说是无用之物。