Boss called me an elephant at work

[feeIingaggrieved]

My boss made a comment at work today and I can’t work out if I’m overreacting.

We were having a fairly normal conversation when, out of nowhere, he called me an elephant. I must have looked a bit taken aback because he quickly tried to laugh it off and said something along the lines of, “Oh, but elephants are the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom, they’re emotionally intelligent etc.”

A colleague who was there quickly changed the subject, and I just sort of let it go in the moment.

But the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. I’m struggling to see how comparing me to an elephant in front of colleagues is appropriate.

AIBU to be annoyed by this?

. . . . . off she went with a trumpety trump,
trump, trump, trump 🎶

I wouldn’t go to a meeting in a tutu and balancing on a ball.

Quite. But looks like OP won’t be back…

Do you have a trunk?

I've said you're like an elephant to a collegue before - regarding her memory being sharp. Luckily she's extremely slim, but I could see it slipping out and me feeling mortified if it was a larger collegue, as its something I say to the DC sometimes when they remember things.
I'd look at the context more than just the animal!

OP never came back, so one can only assume it wasn't about her memory.

Must have been the trunk.

Context is everything, OP!

😄😄

That’s a gorilla surely?

Is your boss the ringmaster?

No, but painting the underside of my feet yellow enables me to hide upside down in bowls of custard.

Other than size, anything else about being an elephant I would personally take as a compliment. Love those amazing animals.

I don't get why he would say that.
Not sure what he was referring to, but I can understand you being upset.

The only content I have heard it said is when someone comes stopping down the stairs in heavy shoes, and they say "Sounds like a herd of elephants".

My lovely dear departed Nan once asked me whilst I was pregnant..
"What are you having? An Elephant?"

Thank you Nan.

Have you never heard it in the context of memory ? Which is I assume of course what he meant if they were having a conversation but also assume the op wanted us all to infer from the lack of information that he was referring to her being overweight.

Personally, I would be asking for a meeting with the boss to clarify exactly what he meant and why?
Comments like that at totally out of order regardless of his 'rank' in the business and the circumstances.

@feeIingaggrieved when you see him on monday, just say "elephants never forget!!" that could be misconstrued as a threat for a bullying industrial tribunal and he wont do it again!!

"Oi, shove over Ellie" , as he struggles to fit in at the table - YANBU
"My god, you're like an elephant" after you recall an event - YABU. Regardless of your size.

Context and, maybe, just a little workplace history of you/boss/colleagues.

Was it said with a smile? Said as a rebuke? Sai, as others have suggested ... allududing to one of the legendary GOOD traits of an elephant?

You have piqued a lot of interest but, like a loo without a seat, you've given us nothing to go on.

There is one of those ‘work personality’ type things were all categories are animals, one of which is elephant ( all of the categories are positive). Did he mean this?

I have an excellent memory and recall and my colleague says to me and tells people I'm like an elephant. I reply with "what she means is I'm grey and wrinkly" but we both have a sense of humour.

Please come back @feeIingaggrieved ! We're dying to know the full story!

I once got had to do psychometric testing at work where we were put in categories of elephant, dolphin, wolf or eagle… or something like that, think there might have been a bear. Elephant was definitely there!

Didn't Nellie end up in Mandalay? They might be why she has disappeared to busy dealing with the earthquake.

@feeIingaggrieved seems to have forgotten their own thread so I think we can rule out having an excellent memory!