英语词汇white elephant的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

white elephant. The king of Siam, who held the title Lord of the White Elephants, was once considered the owner of all the rare albino elephants in his kingdom, and since they were sa- cred to him, only he could ride or work one of them. When he wanted to punish a courtier he simply gave a white elephant to him—the beast eating his luckless victim out of house and home. This story is thought to be the source of our expression a white elephant—any possession, especially a big house, that is useless, eats up money, and can’t be gotten rid of—even though no one has ever found any firm evidence of a king of Siam in- dulging in any such maleficent munificence.

词汇	white elephant
词源	white elephant. The king of Siam, who held the title Lord of the White Elephants, was once considered the owner of all the rare albino elephants in his kingdom, and since they were sa- cred to him, only he could ride or work one of them. When he wanted to punish a courtier he simply gave a white elephant to him—the beast eating his luckless victim out of house and home. This story is thought to be the source of our expression a white elephant—any possession, especially a big house, that is useless, eats up money, and can’t be gotten rid of—even though no one has ever found any firm evidence of a king of Siam in- dulging in any such maleficent munificence.
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