PROCRUSTEAN


Meaning of PROCRUSTEAN in English

/ ˌprəʊˈkrʌstiən; NAmE ˌproʊ-/ adjective

( of a system, a set of rules, etc. ) treating all people or things as if they are the same, without considering individual differences and in a way that is too strict and unreasonable

ORIGIN: From the Greek story of Procrustes , a robber who forced people to lie on a bed and made them fit it by stretching their bodies or cutting off part of their legs.

••

WORD ORIGIN

mid 19th cent.: from the name Procrustes (a robber in Greek mythology who forced travellers to lie on a bed and made them fit it by stretching their limbs or cutting off the appropriate length of leg) + -an .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.