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.

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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

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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.

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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

See Examples For:

Procrustes

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

Procrustes, the herald, came down at all great funerals, and regulated everything with just so much pomp, and no more, as the precise rank of the deceased entitled him to.

From Notes and Queries, Number 218, December 31, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Bell, George

Think what that must be even to a man innocent of crime, and feel how far worse than the bed of Procrustes it must be to one like me.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, July, 1851 by Various

Like the bed of Procrustes, fashions are compelled to suit every one.

From Dress as a Fine Art With Suggestions on Children's Dress by Merrifield, Mary Philadelphia