Is the term white elephant offensive?

No, there is no racial implication. A “white elephant” is something you have, but don’t want, and can’t dispose of. The expression comes from a story about Siam (Thailand). White elephants (which occur in nature, but are rare) are regarded as sacred by the Thai people.

What does white elephant slang mean?

a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its usefulness or value to the owner: When he bought the mansion he didn’t know it was going to be such a white elephant.

Where does the term white elephant come from?

The term white elephant refers to an extravagant, impractical gift that cannot be easily disposed of. The phrase is said to come from the historic practice of the King of Siam (now Thailand) giving rare albino elephants to courtiers who had displeased him, so that they might be ruined by the animals’ upkeep costs.

What is the difference between Dirty Santa and white elephant?

– ‘Dirty Santa’ is more to the Southern states, Today, as the terms evolve, their minor difference lies in that the term “ white elephant gift” is more focused on the gift or present itself. White Elephant gifts are usually impractical gag gifts or gifts from home that just meant to bring laughter to the party.

What is the moral of the story the white elephant?

The white elephant was able to take good care of his mother till the day she died. And when he died himself, the King erected a statue of him by the side of the lake and held an annual elephant festival there in memory of such a caring and noble soul. Moral: Always give affection and care to our dear ones.

Is Yankee Swap and White Elephant the same?

White Elephant is a gift exchange game that is very similar in style to Yankee Swap, although the emphasis is to “steal” gifts rather than swap them. Thus, in its basic form the game calls for people to bring “gag” gifts or gifts they received that they have no use for.

What is a Christmas Pollyanna?

Pollyanna, also known as “Secret Santa” is a Western Christmas tradition. In which groups, or community are randomly assigned a person they will give a gift to on Christmas. The identify of the gift giver is a secret not to be revealed.

What is the difference between Yankee Swap and White Elephant?

Why do they call it a Yankee Swap?

Yankee Swap is more popular in New England and is a reference to the swapping of prisoners of war during the American Civil War. Some claim that generals made a game out of these swaps, and they even assigned different values to each prisoner, kind of like a brute barter system.

What is another term for albatross?

In this page you can discover 20 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for albatross, like: gooney, handicap, mallemuck, Black-footed, nelly, pelican, seabird, burden, mollymawk, millstone and albatrosses.