elephant (redirected from Elephants)

seeing pink elephants and seeing pink spiders; Seeing snakes

intoxicated; recovering from a drinking bout; having the delirium tremens. When I got to the point of seeing pink elephants, I knew that something had to be done. The old one who's shaking—he's probably seeing snakes.

See also: pink, seeing

white elephant

something that is large and unwieldy and is either a nuisance or expensive to keep up. Bob's father-in-law has given him an old Rolls Royce, but it's a real white elephant. He has no place to park it and can't afford the gas for it. Those antique vases Aunt Mary gave me are white elephants. They're ugly and I have no place to put them.

See also: white

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a white elephant

something that has cost a lot of money but has no useful purpose The town's new leisure centre, recently completed at a cost of ten million pounds, seems likely to prove a white elephant.

See also: white

have a memory like an elephant

to be very good at remembering things

Usage notes: Elephants are believed to have good memories.

'I remember where I first saw her - it was at Tim Fisher's party about ten years ago.' 'Yes, you're right - you've got a memory like an elephant!'

See also: have, like, memory