pink elephants

American  

plural noun

1. any of various visual hallucinations sometimes experienced as a withdrawal symptom after sustained alcoholic drinking.

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pink elephants British  

plural noun

1. a facetious name applied to hallucinations caused by drunkenness

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Etymology

Origin of pink elephants

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Their swaddles are in prints of pink elephants or flowers.

From Seattle Times

The last of Seattle’s iconic pink elephants could soon be leaving its perch.

From Seattle Times

Even when black holes crashed together and merged, the singularities—or pink elephants—would remain hidden by their event horizons, preventing their existence from throwing the outer cosmos into chaos.

From Scientific American

After all, if I tell you not to think about a pink elephant, you're likely to think even more about pink elephants.

From Scientific American

By contrast, the fake pink elephants are literally pale imitations of the real thing.

From The Verge