Rather, interesting choice of words. Perhaps she was intimidating, I feel people do feel me intimidating; but I've never tried to be one. I think it's because, people expect less of a short person; they feel intimidated when what they see goes against their assumptions (or) on the other hand since we (dwarf) try so hard all our life to match our normal peers that; we end up doing better & intimidating a few.
Maybe, it wasn’t in my mind until you mentioned it. But then perhaps contorting my word choice to avoid the common idiom would look obvious and gratingly call attention to the height issue. Honestly when common phrases that referenced height came up in conversation, Jane loved it. She though it was just funny. If someone said something about looking up to someone, she’d just say she looked up to everyone and we’d have a laugh. I just learned to relax about things like that with her.
Of course, I advise on 'growth hacks' as well :p
A Freudian choice, perhaps. As we are busy thinking about things we cannot/should not say, that hidden watchdog finds a way to influence our visible behaviors and choices.