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

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 Literature

When you enter the theater, it is hanging from the flies, glittering but baleful, like a carapace or an iron maiden.

From New York Times

I have not seen it, but it sounds like an iron maiden for the stovetop.

From New York Times

Winter coats can be like iron maidens for kids with sensory issues.

From Washington Post