Procrustean bed

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noun

a plan or scheme to produce uniformity or conformity by arbitrary or violent methods.

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Origin of Procrustean bed

After Procrustes, the bandit from Greek mythology who stretched or amputated the limbs of travelers to make them conform to the length of his bed.

My doctor insisted that once I filed this piece I lie down on my bed and not get out.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I fall back into a dream and then suddenly there is a tapping on the window just above my bed.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The distinction between over-policing and non-responsiveness was alive and well in Bed-Stuy.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At Woodhull Hospital, the Bed-Stuy ambulance crew kept doing all they could as they wheeled Ramos into the emergency room.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

While violent offenses are dramatically down in Bed Stuy, pockets of violence persist here.
Anger at The Cop Killer - And The Police|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She sat straight up in bed, and jerked her hands to her head, and screamed long and terribly.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The embankment or road-bed was commenced by gigantic piling, and is very broad and substantial.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Gaze not upon another man's wife, and be not inquisitive after his handmaid, and approach not her bed.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
A little boy had been quarrelling with his sister named Muriel just before going to bed.
Children's Ways|James Sully
She folded them tightly in a handkerchief, and thrust the parcel as far as her arm could reach between the mattress and the bed.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu