Procrustes

American  

[proh-kruhs-teez] / proʊˈkrʌs tiz /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. 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.

---

Procrustes British  

/ prəʊˈkrʌstiːz /

noun

1. Greek myth a robber, who put travellers in his bed, stretching or lopping off their limbs so that they fitted it

---

Procrustes Cultural  

1. 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.

---

Discover More

A “procrustean” method is one that relentlessly tries to shape a person, an argument, or an idea to a predetermined pattern.

Etymology

Origin of Procrustes

C16: from Greek Prokroustēs the stretcher, from prokrouein to extend by hammering out

Example Sentences

From sheer whimsicality, the mythical Greek giant Procrustes stretched short men out to fit a long bed.

From Time Magazine Archive

“But who can pronounce Procrustes? Bad for business. Now ‘Crusty,’ anybody can say that.”

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

I hate convention when it lops off such hours as these like a grudging old Procrustes.

From Shadows of Flames A Novel by Rives, Amélie

By the splendour of Lady Ath�n�'s brow, I will burn that raven's nest of Procrustes!'

From Tales of Troy and Greece by Lang, Andrew

Critic, more cruel than Procrustes old, Who to his iron bed by torture fits Their nobler parts, the souls of suffering wits.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook, Vol. 3 by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham