Augean stables

American  

[aw-jee-uhn stey-buhlz] / ɔˈdʒi ən ˈsteɪ bəlz /

plural noun

Classical Mythology.

1. the stables in which King Augeas kept 3,000 oxen, and which had not been cleaned for 30 years. The cleaning of these stables was accomplished by Hercules, who diverted the river Alpheus through them.

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Augean stables British  

plural noun

1. Greek myth the stables, not cleaned for 30 years, where King Augeas kept 3000 oxen. Hercules diverted the River Alpheus through them and cleaned them in a day

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Augean stables Cultural  

1. Stables that figured in the Greek myth of the Labors of Hercules. The stables, which belonged to King Augeas, housed a large herd of cattle and had not been cleaned for years. Hercules was ordered to clean out these filthy stalls. He did so by diverting the course of two rivers so that they flowed through the stables.

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Etymology

Origin of Augean stables

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

He likened the Internet to the Augean stables in Greek mythology, which needed Hercules to divert two rivers to wash away decades of manure.

From Reuters • Sep. 6, 2021

It is a metaphor he would never use, nor one he is likely to be familiar with, but he was the one man from outside the establishment who could clean the Augean stables of Washington.

From The Guardian • Jun. 10, 2016

Ridding Greece of its endemic political patronage and corruption will take a "Herculean effort," similar to cleaning the "Augean stables."

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2015

Six years would provide a more ample window for Congress to undertake the Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of the federal tax code … and to get it enacted.

From Forbes • Oct. 6, 2014

The fifth labor was to clean the Augean stables in a single day.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton