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]