Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

creeping elegance
     
        Describes a tendency for parts of a design to become {elegant}
        past the point of diminishing return, something which often
        happens at the expense of the less interesting parts of the
        design, the schedule, and other things deemed important in the
        {Real World}.  See also {creeping featurism}, {second-system
        effect}, {tense}.