What does "purple elephant" mean?

[Jenny Lau]

I often see the word “purple elephant” when doing the reading. Sometimes it seems to appear in jokes. And I can’t find the phrase in the dictionary. Could you help me?

 

[shane]

I've heard of 'white elephant', but not 'purple elephant' :shock:

Can you give an example of how it's used?

 

[jnsummer]

It could be like a 'blue moon'.

 

[lucyarliwu]

But what does " white elephant" mean then if "purple elephant" is "blue moon"??

 

[jnsummer]

All of these phrases refer to something that is either very rare or surprising. :shock:

Such as 'as rare as hens teeth', once in a blue moon(it means that something almost never happens), white or purple or even pink elephants are used to describe things a bit weird or just non-existent.

But they can all be used in much the same way. :wink:

 

[lucyarliwu]

All of these phrases refer to something that is either very rare or surprising. :shock:

Such as 'as rare as hens teeth', once in a blue moon(it means that something almost never happens), white or purple or even pink elephants are used to describe things a bit weird or just non-existent.

But they can all be used in much the same way. :wink:

Thanks Jamie for your explanitions!

 

[Jenny Lau]

Thank you all!

 

[Red5]

How about Red Herring?

 

[lucyarliwu]

How about Red Herring?

What's that please?
I donot know at least! :?
Herring is a kind of fish,right? What color does it usually have ?
What do you refer to when you mention "red herring'?
:shock:

 

[John D]

Hi,


Have not seen any references to purple elephants before.
Pink elephants are usually seen when one is under the influence of alchohol or similar. Could be mistaken for purple at times, I suppose. Meaning not known.

A white elephant is something that someone paid a lot of money for but it turns out to be quite useless. Decorative maybe but quite inadequate for the purpose they were intended. Example....Ashtrays for Harley motorcycles.

A "red herring" is a false trail or path, used a lot in detective stories. One example.....It is a piece of misleading evidence that is deliberately left at the scene of a crime to make the police think an innocent person commited the crime.

Another example......A Lapwing (Plover) will run away from its nest trailing what appears to be a broken wing so you will follow her away from the nest. She is laying a "red herring", or false trail.

Hope this helps,

John D.

 

[Jenny Lau]

Thank you very much indeed, John D,it does help

 

[Jenny Lau]

Here is the context I find:

Angela: Hi, Anna.
Anna: Hi, Angela.
Angela: How are you?
Anna: Fine. No,not fine.I can't sleep very well at the moment.
Angela: Really?
Anna: And I have terrible dreams: the same dream every night.
Angela: What happens?
Anna: Well, in my dream, I see hundreds of purple elephants.Angela: Have you seen the doctor?
Anna: No ...
Angela: ... Just the purple elephants.
Anna: Oh, you've heard it before.

Then what do u think about "purple elephant"?

 

[RonBee]

Here is the context I find:

Angela: Hi, Anna.
Anna: Hi, Angela.
Angela: How are you?
Anna: Fine. No,not fine.I can't sleep very well at the moment.
Angela: Really?
Anna: And I have terrible dreams: the same dream every night.
Angela: What happens?
Anna: Well, in my dream, I see hundreds of purple elephants.Angela: Have you seen the doctor?
Anna: No ...
Angela: ... Just the purple elephants.
Anna: Oh, you've heard it before.

Then what do u think about "purple elephant"?

That explains a great deal. The term purple elephant is not a common expression, but instead it is related to what is going on in that character's life. It's hard to tell what it meant to Anna to see purple elephants in her dreams. To understand that I would have to know more about Anna. No doubt they mean something to Anna that they don't mean to me. Indeed, to me a purple elephant is just an elephant that is purple. Since purple elephants aren't real, they must be imaginary elephants.

8)

 

[Lib]

I think it means just that - purple elephants. Nothing figurative, no metaphor .. just purple elephants. It's a joke. Not a great one, but a joke anyway.

 

[Jenny Lau]

Yeah, I totally undertand now! Thank you all

 

[amiemaydo]

Thank you all!

would my purple elephant look big if i put it in the monkey dishwasher?

:twisted:

 

[amiemaydo]

everything is therefore a purple elephant.....what about a purple monkey, anyone ever heard of that?

 

[amiemaydo]

Thank you all!

would my purple elephant look big if i put it in the monkey dishwasher?

:twisted:

everything is therefore a purple elephant.....what about a purple monkey, anyone ever heard of that?

 

[shane]

Purple rain? :wink:

 

[RonBee]

Thank you all!

would my purple elephant look big if i put it in the monkey dishwasher?

:twisted:

Um, what's a monkey dishwasher?

:wink: