Procrustes
a robber who stretched or amputated the limbs of travelers to make them conform to the length of his bed. He was killed by Theseus.
- Also called Damastes.
Words Nearby Procrustes
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Procrustes in a sentence
Theseus entered Procrustes's home, and partook freely of the food set before him.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome | Emilie Kip BakerThe literary committee were so impressed with this idea that they presented it to Baxter in regard to the Procrustes.
When the Procrustes was ready for distribution, each subscriber received his copy by mail, in a neat pasteboard box.
In pursuance of my duty in the premises, it of course became necessary for me to read the Procrustes.
He offered to pay all the bills for the sham Procrustes, or to replace the blank copies with the real thing, as we might choose.
British Dictionary definitions for Procrustes
/ (prəʊˈkrʌstiːz) /
Greek myth a robber, who put travellers in his bed, stretching or lopping off their limbs so that they fitted it
Origin of Procrustes
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Procrustes
[ (proh-krus-teez) ]
A mythical Greek giant who was a thief and a murderer. He would capture travelers and tie them to an iron bed. If they were longer than the bed, he would hack off their limbs until they fit it. If they were too short, he would stretch them to the right size.
Notes for Procrustes
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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