White Elephant Idiom American Expressions and American Idioms

This database is a comprehensive collection of all the American idioms and slang available. American Idioms are many and varied. We hope you enjoy our collection. We are adding more all the time. .

White Elephant What does White Elephant mean?	Something that is costly to obtain or maintain and provides little benefit or value.	The London Bridge became a white elephant. The bridge was relocated to Havasu City Arizona, where it now remains as a tourist attraction. From the Burmese belief that albino elephants are sacred. They can't be used for work and they must be lavished with the ultimate amount of care. Giving a gift of a white elephant would be done to someone considered an enemy. The idea being that you would eventually wipe out your enemy's wealth with the care of the sacred elephant.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a useless possession that is a nuisance or expensive to keep	They are having a white elephant sale at the school next week.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a waste of money	The new airport was a white elephant which nobody liked to use.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a useless possession (that often costs money to maintain)	The new airport is a white elephant and nobody wants to use it.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a useless possession (that often costs money to maintain)	The new airport is a white elephant and nobody wants to use it.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a useless possession that is a nuisance and often very expensive to keep	They are having a white elephant sale at the school next week.
white elephant What does white elephant mean?	a waste of money	The new airport was a white elephant which nobody wanted to use.
	Some Random Idioms
cheesehead What does "cheesehead" mean?	person from the state of Wisconsin

make oneself conspicuous What does "make oneself conspicuous" mean?	attract attention to oneself	The man made himself conspicuous by wearing the pastel-colored sports jacket.
Put a cork in it! What does "Put a cork in it!" mean?	This is a way of telling someone to be quiet.
back in circulation What does "back in circulation" mean?	to be available to the public again (a library book)	The books were back in circulation after we returned them to the library.
result in (something) What does "result in (something)" mean?	to cause something to happen	The bad road conditions resulted in many small accidents this morning.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it What does "Put that in your pipe and smoke it" mean?	This is used as an unsympathetic way of telling someone to accept what you have just said.
stick to a story/the facts What does "stick to a story/the facts" mean?	to remain faithful to the facts of a story	"Please stick to the facts when you tell the story to the police."
nerdmobile What does "nerdmobile" mean?	boring family car

not breathe a word of it What does "not breathe a word of it" mean?	to not tell something (to anyone)	I will not breathe a word of it to my friend.
red ink What does "red ink" mean?	debt (the red ink on a financial statement)	The automobile company has much red ink because of the bad economic conditions.
like an open book What does "like an open book" mean?	someone or something that is easy to understand	Our boss is like an open book and it is easy to know what he is thinking most of the time.
streets are paved with gold What does "streets are paved with gold" mean?	a place (usually a city) where you can make much money	Many people believed that the streets were paved with gold when they moved to the city to try to have a better life.

American Idioms and Expressions

White Elephant Idiom