Look for some promising-sounding polysyllabic word and then see if a new meaning can be made out its sound. So she could see properly to do her needlework. In this case I looked for the opposite sense to elephantine, and arrived at such things as pole-vaulting and daintiness. Needlework seemed the right kind of activity for an elephant. Of course it would have to be an elderly female elephant.
Strong glasses follow by association.