Show on Earth
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
He weighed 6£ tons. He was accidentally killed by a railway engine in 1885, but his name is still synonymous with the idea of an elephant in children's minds.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Show on Earth” mean?
He weighed 6£ tons. He was accidentally killed by a railway engine in 1885, but his name is still synonymous with the idea of an elephant in children's minds.
Is “Show on Earth” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.