Used of programs or systems that are both conspicuous hogs (owing perhaps to poor design founded on {brute force and ignorance}) and exceedingly {hairy} in source form.An elephantine program may be functional and even friendly, but (as in the old joke about being in bed with an elephant) it' s tough to have around all the same (and, like a pachyderm, difficult to maintain).In extreme cases, hackers have been known to make trumpeting sounds or perform expressive proboscatory mime at the mention of the offending program. Usage: semi-humorous.Compare "has the elephant nature" and the somewhat more pejorative monstrosity.See also second-system effect and baroque.[Jargon File]