What exactly is a "white elephant" gift? I have a pretty good idea, but I just want to be clear.
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SoDifficult
ANSWERS: 6
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Maybe an elephant made of ivory, which is very expensive.
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I hadn't heard that term related to a gift given or received, but I believe the "white elephant" reference is used when something is expensive and apparently impressive, but the object has no practical use or application. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/white+elephant Come to think of it, that very much might be applied to a gift.
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White Elephant gift is a way to do a gift exchange that is both economical and fun. Basically you bring a gift to a party. Many people recommend that it's either a gag gift, or a gift you have lying around your home, like an unused candle. You aren't supposed to go out and buy a great gift like movie passes or something (I'll explain later) Wrap the gift. Bring it to the party. Then everyone who brings a gift, pulls a number out of a hat. (1 number for each person entered in the gift exchange) If you have #1 you go first and pick out a gift. Then #2 person goes, but they have a choice of picking an unopened gift from the gift table, or stealing your gift. If #2 person likes person #1's gift, they get to keep it. Then person #1 gets to go pick out another gift. And so on. So if you are person #30, you get to pick any persons gift. It's fun to bring a wierd gift and watch people fight over who's gonna get stuck with it. That's my experience with the White Elephant Gift Exchange party.
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In its original context, a "White Elephant" gift is a "gift" that is more a burden than a gift. It's a symbolic gift that is expensive to maintain, and often quite bulky, but a gift that one can't simply get rid of while the party who gave the gift is not paying attention. However, if you're talking about a "White Elephant" gift for a modern "White Elephant" (or "Dirty Santa") party, it's simply a gift - often intended to be funny - exchanged blindly in a festive gift-exchange event. It can be quite entertaining - especially when the macho guy unwraps the steering wheel cover with Tinkerbell all over it.
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i always thought it was a gag gift, google that shit
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I can't be the only one thinking it's a sexual euphemism, can I?
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