iron maiden

American  

noun

1. a medieval instrument of torture fashioned as a box in the shape of a woman, large enough to hold a human being, and studded with sharp spikes on the inside.

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iron maiden British  

noun

1. a medieval instrument of torture, consisting of a hinged case (often shaped in the form of a woman) lined with iron spikes, which was forcibly closed on the victim

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Etymology

Origin of iron maiden

1890–95; translation of German eiserne Jungfrau

Example Sentences

The end result, constructed at Harvard, resembled the nave of a cathedral built by aliens to worship radial symmetry, or an iron maiden for punishing giant cubes.

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2022

Early in her career, Margaret Thatcher was described in a thumbnail sketch by Mr. Roth as a “blond, kempt, resolute, single-minded iron maiden in blue chiffon.”

From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2010

My body was a knot of raw nerves and nausea, my lungs crushed against my rib cage like a prisoner in an iron maiden.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

She was not an iron maiden, but one among the nervous natures which live largely in the moment, though she was then sacrificing it to her nature's deep dislike.

From The Egoist by Meredith, George