Procrustes

(prəʊˈkrʌstiːz) n (Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth a robber, who put travellers in his bed, stretching or lopping off their limbs so that they fitted it[C16: from Greek Prokroustēs the stretcher, from prokrouein to extend by hammering out]

Pro•crus•tes

(proʊˈkrʌs tiz)

n. (in Greek myth) a robber who stretched or amputated the limbs of travelers to make them conform to the length of his bed.

Thesaurus

Noun

Procrustes - (Greek mythology) a mythical giant who was a thief and murderer; he would capture people and tie them to an iron bed, stretching them or hacking off their legs to make them fit; was killed by TheseusGreek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks

Translations

Procrustes

(prōkrŭs`tēz), in Greek mythology, cruel highwayman. He forced passersby to lie on a very long bed and then stretched them to fit it. Some said that he also had a very short bed; to make passersby fit this he sawed off their legs. Using Procrustes' own villainous methods, Theseus killed him.

Procrustes

in ancient Greek mythology, a giant robber who forced travellers to lie down on a bed, cutting off the feet of those who were longer than the bed and stretching out those who were shorter to make them fit the bed’s length; hence his name, which means “he who stretches.” Metaphorically, a “bed of Procrustes,” or “Procrustean bed,” is any artificial means of measure that has no relation to the real meaning of a phenomenon; any forcibly imposed limitation.

Procrustes

robber; stretches or amputates limbs of victims to fit his bed. [Class. Myth.: Zimmerman, 221]See: Brutality

Procrustes

made travelers fit bed by stretching or lopping off their legs. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 221]See: Mutilation

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Words related to Procrustes

noun (Greek mythology) a mythical giant who was a thief and murderer

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