Definition

Noun: A visual hallucination, typically bizarre or fantastical in nature, that is stereotypically associated with the delirium tremens experienced during severe alcohol withdrawal or extreme intoxication.

Usage

This term is used almost exclusively to describe a specific type of hallucination caused by excessive alcohol consumption. It often implies the hallucinations are nonsensical or surreal.

Examples

• After three days of heavy drinking, he claimed to see pink elephants dancing on the walls.
• The term "pink elephants" has become a cultural shorthand for the hallucinations of delirium tremens.
• In old cartoons, a character seeing pink elephants was a common visual joke about drunkenness.

Advanced Usage

• "Seeing pink elephants": This phrase is an idiom meaning to experience alcohol-induced hallucinations or, more loosely, to be severely intoxicated.
  • If you keep drinking that much whiskey, you'll start seeing pink elephants.

Variants and Related Words

• The DTs / Delirium Tremens (n): The medical condition characterized by agitation, tremors, and hallucinations, often including so-called "pink elephants."
• Hallucination (n): A more general term for perceiving something that is not present.

Synonyms

• Phantasm
• Apparition (in this specific context)
• Phantom

Related Idioms

• "Seeing things": A general idiom for hallucinating.
  • You're not really seeing a monster; you're just seeing things.
• "On the wagon": Abstaining from alcohol. Often contrasted with the state that leads to "seeing pink elephants."
  • He's been on the wagon for a year now, so no more pink elephants.

Noun

1. any visual hallucination arising from heavy drinking