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Unwanted possession
Answer for the clue "Unwanted possession ", 14 letters:
white elephant
Alternative clues for the word white elephant
Word definitions for white elephant in dictionaries
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
White elephant \White elephant\ Something requiring much care and expense to maintain and yielding little profit, and often difficult to sell; any burdensome possession. [Slang]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"burdensome charge, inconvenient thing that one does not know how to get rid of," 1851, supposedly from the practice of the King of Siam of presenting one of the sacred albino elephants to a courtier who had fallen from favor; the gift was a great honor, ...
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. a valuable possession whose upkeep is excessively expensive albinic Indian elephant; rare and sometimes venerated in east Asia
Wikipedia
Word definitions in Wikipedia
A white elephant is a supposedly valuable possession whose cost exceeds its usefulness. White elephant may also refer to: White elephant (animal) , a rare kind of albino elephant (not a distinct species) White elephant sale , a collection of used items ...
Wiktionary
Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 An albino elephant. 2 (context idiomatic English) A possession that is unwanted or is a financial burden; an unprofitable investment.
Usage examples of white elephant.
Finally, in desperation, the agency turned to the American Thermogen Corporation of Whitman, Massachusetts, for construction of what came to be known as White Elephant No.
For example, there is the Buddhist pious tale of the case of King Vessantara, who was asked by a neighboring monarch for the loan of his imperial white elephant.
There was a white elephant at the New Wash facility, and it cost a fantastic amount to maintain it, for elephants are not native to space.