At the same time it afforded a public opportunity for emulation in what Veblen would have termed conspicuous waste.

The custom of conspicuous waste, to show how wealthy the possessor was.

These days conspicuous waste is largely in the eye of the beholder.

Like so many edifices dedicated to human vanity, the palace was a conspicuous waste of space and resources.

The hollow, throwaway long box had become a symbol of conspicuous waste, and it had to go.

Have you ever seen such conspicuous waste before??

It was a conspicuous example of conspicuous waste.

It was the most conspicuous waste Tony had ever seen.

The cylinder was nearly empty: conspicuous waste in a starship.