seeing the elephant

Verb

see the elephant (third-person singular simple present sees the elephant, present participle seeing the elephant, simple past saw the elephant, past participle seen the elephant)

1. (US, obsolete, slang) To witness something unexpected and awe-inspiring.
2. (US, obsolete, slang) To be up to the latest moves; to be knowing and worldly.
   • "[W]hy he's a natural born carakter. He is the best hand at a yarn in all west country, and will whip more cats, tell more lies, and eat more pork, than any fellow in Texas. […] [H]e's rare, jist the chap, and no mistake. He's seen the elephant, I imagine, a little more nor twice, I expect."1846, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, page 338
3. (US, slang, American Civil War) To witness or participate in a battle.
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see see, the, elephant.