Green’s Dictionary of Slang

elephant’s (trunk) adj.

drunk.

1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1880		D.W. Barrett Life and Work among Navvies 41: The night before [...] he ‘had been and got the elephant’s trunk’.
1891		G.R. Sims ‘Tottie’ Dagonet Ditties 127: Why the fellow’s ‘Jumbo’s trunk!’.
1892		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘The Rhyme of the Rusher’ in Sporting Times 29 Oct. n.p.: He had been on the I’m so tap, and now / He was slightly elephant’s trunk.
1898		Hartlepool Mail 26 Feb. 6/4: Elephants, elevated, drunk.
1909		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘Daylight Saving’ (in Sporting Times 13 Mar.) n.p.: Though elephant’s trunk, he was sobered pro tem.
1912		Sport (Adelaide) 19 Oct. 13/3: They Say [...] That Bratten [illeg.] was ‘elephant’s trunk’ [...] after the races.
1928		M.C. Sharpe Chicago May: Her Story in Hamilton (1952) 132: Elephant trunk – drunk.
1930		L. Lower Here’s Luck 263: ‘Cocoa goes like that when ’e’s elephants,’ explained Woggo [...] ‘Elephants?’ queried Agatha in a puzzled voice. ‘Elephant’s trunk,’ said Steak. ‘Drunk, missus.’.
c.1940–5		‘Myles na gCopaleen’ Best of Myles (1968) 338: Drunk; jarred; [...] plasthered; elephants; fluthery-eyed.
1943		M. Harrison Reported Safe Arrival 131: Ef you want ter git elephant’s-trunk, I won’t stop you.
1948		Smith’s Wkly (Sydney) 25 Dec. 6/2: [T]he Crow had recently been sipping a few quarts of fourpenny dark, and was disgustingly elephant’s.
1953		J. Franklyn Cockney 293: He may add that he will not get elephant’s trunk- or he may abbreviate to elephant’s – (drunk) on it because it is half fisherman’s daughter (water).
1969		S.T. Kendall Up the Frog 11: ’Ave a butcher’s ’ook at Steak and Kidney, ’e’s elephants trunk!
1979		R. Barker Fletcher’s Book of Rhy. Sl. 26: He became very elephant’s trunk.
1989		H. Rawson Dict. of Invective (1991) 41: Elephants is to be drunk (from elephant’s trunk).
1991		R.G. Barrett Between the Devlin 116: He was eight parts elephant’s trunk.
1998		C. Fitzpatrick ‘Gower ’98’ on Sussex University Canoe Club 🌐 So after a few tiddly winks we jumped in our relevant trouble and fuss back to the campsite to get elephant’s trunk.
2001		G. Coughlan Everyday Eng. and Sl. 🌐 Elephants (n): drunk.
2001		D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 65/1: elephant’s trunk (also elephant trunk) adj. drunk.
2002		M. Coles More Bible in Cockney 37: It’s pathetic to get elephant’s trunk.