Seeing pink elephants: Difference between revisions
→See also: added link to the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” - people say “Lucy in the sky” to mean drug-induced hallucinations, and so it’s a very similar expression to “pink elephants” Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
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{{Other uses|Pink elephant (disambiguation)}} |
{{Other uses|Pink elephant (disambiguation)}} |
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"'''Seeing pink elephants'''" is a [[euphemism]] for [[hallucination]]s caused by [[delirium tremens]] or [[alcoholic hallucinosis]], especially the former. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about seeing snakes and other creatures. An alcoholic character in [[Jack London]]'s 1913 novel ''[[John Barleycorn (novel)|John Barleycorn]]'' |
"'''Seeing pink elephants'''" is a [[euphemism]] for [[hallucination]]s caused by [[delirium tremens]] or [[alcoholic hallucinosis]], especially the former. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about seeing snakes and other creatures. An alcoholic character in [[Jack London]]'s 1913 novel ''[[John Barleycorn (novel)|John Barleycorn]]'' makes reference to the hallucination of "blue mice and pink elephants" while describing the two different types of men that consume [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] excessively. Another notable instance of the appearance of pink elephants in popular culture is the "[[Pink Elephants on Parade]]" section of the 1941 [[Walt Disney]] animated film ''[[Dumbo]]''. |
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Pink elephants actually exist in nature. Although they are extremely rare, [[albino]] |
Pink elephants actually exist in nature. Although they are extremely rare, [[albino elephant]]s can appear to be pink as well as white.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rebecca |last=Morelle |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7951331.stm|title=Pink elephant is caught on camera|publisher=BBC News |date=March 20, 2009}}</ref> |
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==History of the euphemism== |
==History of the euphemism== |
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For many decades before "pink elephant" became the standard drunken hallucination, people were known to "see snakes" or "see snakes in their boots."<ref |
For many decades before "pink elephant" became the standard drunken hallucination, people were known to "see snakes" or "see snakes in their boots."<ref name=colorful /> Beginning in about 1889, and throughout the 1890s, writers made increasingly elaborate modifications to the standard "snakes" idiom. They changed the animal to rats, monkeys, giraffes, hippopotamuses or elephants – or combinations thereof; and added color – blue, red, green, pink – and many combinations thereof. |
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In |
In what may be the earliest recorded example of a (partially) pink elephant, Henry Wallace Phillips in the 1896 short story "The Man and the Serpent" – one of his "Fables for the Times" – refers to a drunken man seeing a "pink-and-green elephant" and a "feathered hippopotamus".<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Phillips|first1=Henry Wallace|title=The Man and the Serpent|magazine=Life|date=April 30, 1896|volume=27|issue=696|page=343}}</ref><ref>Phillips, H. W. (2004) "The Man and the Serpent" in [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13494/13494-h/13494-h.htm ''Fables for the Times''] [[Project Gutenberg]]</ref> In 1897, a humorous notice about a play entitled ''The Blue Monkey'', noted that "We have seen it. Also the pink elephant with the orange trunk and the yellow giraffe with green trimmings. Also other things."<ref>{{cite news|author=Staff|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1897-12-06/ed-1/seq-4/|title=A Candid Editor|agency= via ''[[St. Paul Dispatch]]'' |newspaper=The Evening Times |location=Washington DC|date=December 6, 1897}}</ref> |
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An early literary use of the term is by Jack London in 1913, who describes one kind of alcoholic, in the autobiographical ''John Barleycorn'':<blockquote> |
An early literary use of the term is by Jack London in 1913, who describes one kind of alcoholic, in the autobiographical ''John Barleycorn'':<blockquote> |
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There are, broadly speaking, two types of drinkers. There is the man whom we all know, stupid, unimaginative, whose brain is bitten numbly by numb maggots; who walks generously with wide-spread, tentative legs, falls frequently in the gutter, and who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. He is the type that gives rise to the jokes in the funny papers.<ref>[[s:John Barleycorn (London)/Chapter II|''John Barleycorn'' Chapter II, at Wikisource]]</ref> |
There are, broadly speaking, two types of drinkers. There is the man whom we all know, stupid, unimaginative, whose brain is bitten numbly by numb maggots; who walks generously with wide-spread, tentative legs, falls frequently in the gutter, and who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. He is the type that gives rise to the jokes in the funny papers.<ref>[[Jack London|London, Jack]] [[s:John Barleycorn (London)/Chapter II|''John Barleycorn'' Chapter II, at Wikisource]]</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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"Pink elephants" became the dominant animal of drunken-hallucination choice by about 1905, although other animals and other colors were still regularly invoked. "Seeing snakes" or "seeing snakes in one's boots" was in regular use into the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=The Colorful History and Etymology of "Pink Elephant"|url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-colorful-history-and-etymology-of.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History|access-date=12 April 2016}}</ref> |
"Pink elephants" became the dominant animal of drunken-hallucination choice by about 1905, although other animals and other colors were still regularly invoked. "Seeing snakes" or "seeing snakes in one's boots" was in regular use into the 1920s.<ref name=colorful>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Peter Jensen|title=The Colorful History and Etymology of "Pink Elephant"|url=http://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-colorful-history-and-etymology-of.html|website=Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History|date=20 August 2014 |access-date=12 April 2016}}</ref> |
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In the comic book [[Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1]], published in 1938, [[Lois Lane]] reports at the ''[[Daily Planet]]'' newspaper that she witnessed [[Superman]]. Her editor brushes off Lois's story, asking if it was pink elephants she was seeing. |
In the comic book [[Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1]], published in 1938, [[Lois Lane]] reports at the ''[[Daily Planet]]'' newspaper that she witnessed [[Superman]]. Her editor brushes off Lois's story, asking if it was pink elephants she was seeing. |
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==Product references== |
==Product references== |
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[[File:Brauerei Huyghe 2014 1.JPG|thumb|Brouwerij Huyghe in 2014.]] |
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| ⚫ | The association between pink elephants and alcohol is reflected in the name of various alcoholic drinks. There are various cocktails called "Pink Elephant",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bouchard|first1=Cathy|last2=Foley|first2=Ray|name-list-style=and|title=Ultimate Little Cocktail Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZBfeM7_-YQC&pg=PT31|date=November 1, 2011|publisher=Sourcebooks|isbn=9781402254109|page=31}}</ref> and the [[Huyghe Brewery]] of Belgium put a pink elephant on the label of its [[Delirium Tremens (beer)|Delirium Tremens]] beer.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Pink Elephant beer: Delirium Tremens|url=https://belgianbeers.co.uk/2020/05/29/the-pink-elephant-beer-delirium-tremens/|date=May 29, 2020|website=Belgian Beers|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The association between pink elephants and alcohol is reflected in the name of various alcoholic drinks. There are various cocktails called "Pink Elephant",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bouchard|first1=Cathy|last2=Foley|first2=Ray|name-list-style=and|title=Ultimate Little Cocktail Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZBfeM7_-YQC&pg=PT31|date=November 1, 2011|publisher=Sourcebooks|isbn=9781402254109|page=31}}</ref> and the [[Huyghe Brewery]] of Belgium put a pink elephant on the label of its [[Delirium Tremens (beer)|Delirium Tremens]] beer.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Staff|title=The Pink Elephant beer: Delirium Tremens|url=https://belgianbeers.co.uk/2020/05/29/the-pink-elephant-beer-delirium-tremens/|date=May 29, 2020|website=Belgian Beers|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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==Other meanings== |
==Other meanings== |
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In 2008, Republican vice-presidential candidate [[Sarah Palin]] used the phrase "pink elephants" to refer to conservative women such as herself, [[Carly Fiorina]], [[Sue Lowden]] and [[Jane Norton]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/05/14/palin-look-out-for-stampede-of-pink-elephants/ | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Palin: 'Look Out for Stampede of Pink Elephants' | first=Jean | last=Spencer | date= |
In 2008, Republican vice-presidential candidate [[Sarah Palin]] used the phrase "pink elephants" to refer to [[Women in conservatism in the United States|conservative women]] such as herself, [[Carly Fiorina]], [[Sue Lowden]] and [[Jane Norton]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/05/14/palin-look-out-for-stampede-of-pink-elephants/ | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | title=Palin: 'Look Out for Stampede of Pink Elephants' | first=Jean | last=Spencer | date=May 14, 2010}}</ref> She was referencing the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party and pink being a stereotypical feminine color. |
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== See also == |
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* [[Elephant in the room|(Pink) elephant in the room]] |
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* [[Ironic process theory]] ("Don't think of a pink elephant") |
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*[[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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[[Category:Euphemisms]] |
[[Category:Euphemisms]] |
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[[Category:Alcohol abuse]] |
[[Category:Alcohol abuse]] |
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[[Category:Fictional elephants]] |
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[[Category:Metaphors referring to elephants]] |
[[Category:Metaphors referring to elephants]] |
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Latest revision as of 02:13, 5 December 2024
"Seeing pink elephants" is a euphemism for hallucinations caused by delirium tremens or alcoholic hallucinosis, especially the former. The term dates back to at least the early 20th century, emerging from earlier idioms about seeing snakes and other creatures. An alcoholic character in Jack London's 1913 novel John Barleycorn makes reference to the hallucination of "blue mice and pink elephants" while describing the two different types of men that consume alcohol excessively. Another notable instance of the appearance of pink elephants in popular culture is the "Pink Elephants on Parade" section of the 1941 Walt Disney animated film Dumbo.
Pink elephants actually exist in nature. Although they are extremely rare, albino elephants can appear to be pink as well as white.[1]
History of the euphemism
[edit]For many decades before "pink elephant" became the standard drunken hallucination, people were known to "see snakes" or "see snakes in their boots."[2] Beginning in about 1889, and throughout the 1890s, writers made increasingly elaborate modifications to the standard "snakes" idiom. They changed the animal to rats, monkeys, giraffes, hippopotamuses or elephants – or combinations thereof; and added color – blue, red, green, pink – and many combinations thereof.
In what may be the earliest recorded example of a (partially) pink elephant, Henry Wallace Phillips in the 1896 short story "The Man and the Serpent" – one of his "Fables for the Times" – refers to a drunken man seeing a "pink-and-green elephant" and a "feathered hippopotamus".[3][4] In 1897, a humorous notice about a play entitled The Blue Monkey, noted that "We have seen it. Also the pink elephant with the orange trunk and the yellow giraffe with green trimmings. Also other things."[5]
An early literary use of the term is by Jack London in 1913, who describes one kind of alcoholic, in the autobiographical John Barleycorn:
There are, broadly speaking, two types of drinkers. There is the man whom we all know, stupid, unimaginative, whose brain is bitten numbly by numb maggots; who walks generously with wide-spread, tentative legs, falls frequently in the gutter, and who sees, in the extremity of his ecstasy, blue mice and pink elephants. He is the type that gives rise to the jokes in the funny papers.[6]
"Pink elephants" became the dominant animal of drunken-hallucination choice by about 1905, although other animals and other colors were still regularly invoked. "Seeing snakes" or "seeing snakes in one's boots" was in regular use into the 1920s.[2]
In the comic book Action Comics #1, published in 1938, Lois Lane reports at the Daily Planet newspaper that she witnessed Superman. Her editor brushes off Lois's story, asking if it was pink elephants she was seeing.
A well-known reference to pink elephants occurs in the 1941 Disney animated film Dumbo. In a segment known as "Pink Elephants on Parade", after taking a drink of water from a bucket spiked with champagne, Dumbo and Timothy begin to hallucinate singing and dancing elephants.
Product references
[edit]
The association between pink elephants and alcohol is reflected in the name of various alcoholic drinks. There are various cocktails called "Pink Elephant",[7] and the Huyghe Brewery of Belgium put a pink elephant on the label of its Delirium Tremens beer.[8]
Other meanings
[edit]In 2008, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin used the phrase "pink elephants" to refer to conservative women such as herself, Carly Fiorina, Sue Lowden and Jane Norton.[9] She was referencing the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party and pink being a stereotypical feminine color.
See also
[edit]- (Pink) elephant in the room
- Ironic process theory ("Don't think of a pink elephant")
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
References
[edit]- ^ Morelle, Rebecca (March 20, 2009). "Pink elephant is caught on camera". BBC News.
- ^ a b Brown, Peter Jensen (20 August 2014). "The Colorful History and Etymology of "Pink Elephant"". Early Sports 'n' Pop-Culture History. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ Phillips, Henry Wallace (April 30, 1896). "The Man and the Serpent". Life. Vol. 27, no. 696. p. 343.
- ^ Phillips, H. W. (2004) "The Man and the Serpent" in Fables for the Times Project Gutenberg
- ^ Staff (December 6, 1897). "A Candid Editor". The Evening Times. Washington DC. via St. Paul Dispatch.
- ^ London, Jack John Barleycorn Chapter II, at Wikisource
- ^ Bouchard, Cathy and Foley, Ray (November 1, 2011). Ultimate Little Cocktail Book. Sourcebooks. p. 31. ISBN 9781402254109.
- ^ Staff (May 29, 2020). "The Pink Elephant beer: Delirium Tremens". Belgian Beers.
- ^ Spencer, Jean (May 14, 2010). "Palin: 'Look Out for Stampede of Pink Elephants'". The Wall Street Journal.
