procrustean bed
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procrustean bed — /proʊˈkrʌstiən bɛd/ (say proh krusteeuhn bed) noun (also upper case) an arbitrary standard to which strict conformity is forced. {See procrustean} …
procrustean bed — noun a standard that is enforced uniformly without regard to individuality • Syn: ↑procrustean standard, ↑procrustean rule • Hypernyms: ↑standard, ↑criterion, ↑measure, ↑touchstone … Useful english dictionary
Procrustean bed — something to which people are forced to conform (from the Greek legend of a robber who altered his victims to fit his bed by stretching them or cutting off their legs) … English contemporary dictionary
procrustean bed — noun Usage: often capitalized P Date: 1832 a scheme or pattern into which someone or something is arbitrarily forced … New Collegiate Dictionary
procrustean rule — noun a standard that is enforced uniformly without regard to individuality • Syn: ↑procrustean standard, ↑procrustean bed • Hypernyms: ↑standard, ↑criterion, ↑measure, ↑touchstone … Useful english dictionary
procrustean standard — noun a standard that is enforced uniformly without regard to individuality • Syn: ↑procrustean rule, ↑procrustean bed • Hypernyms: ↑standard, ↑criterion, ↑measure, ↑touchstone … Useful english dictionary
Procrustean — 1846 in figurative sense of aiming to produce conformity by arbitrary means, from Procrustes, mythical robber of Attica who seized travelers, tied them to his bed, and either stretched their limbs or lopped of their legs to make them fit it. The… … Etymology dictionary
Procrustean — Producing or striving to produce absolute conformity, usually through severe or absolute means; from Procrustes, a mythological Greek robber who made his victims fit a bed by stretching them or cutting off their limbs … Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors
Procrustean — [prə(ʊ) krʌstɪən] adjective enforcing conformity without regard to natural variation or individuality. Origin C19: from the name Procrustes, a robber in Greek mythology who fitted victims to a bed by stretching or cutting off parts of them, + an … English new terms dictionary
procrustean — /proʊˈkrʌstiən/ (say proh krusteeuhn) adjective (also upper case) tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means. {from Procrustes, in Greek legend, a robber who stretched or mutilated his victims to make them conform to the length… …