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elephantine: adj. 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.
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