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

• 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？
• The car is a white elephant for me.
  这辆小汽车对我来说是无用之物。
• The boy showed no interest in music. The grand piano they had bought for him was nothing but a white elephant.
  那个男孩对音乐没有兴趣，他们为他买的大钢琴成了件多余的东西。
• 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。
• 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。
• Buying such a white elephant is simply wasting money.
  买这样大而无用的东西完全是浪费金钱。
• That would be a white elephant to me.
  那东西对我来说又贵又没用。
• 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。
• 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。
• I told him a white lie, which made him white with fury, but when he realized his project is a white elephant, his face turned as white as a sheet.
  我向他撒了一个善意的谎言，却引来他的勃然大怒。但当他发现自己的工程毫无价值的时候，他顿时脸色苍白。