Procrustes

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Procrustes \Pro*crus"tes\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to beat out,
     to stretch; ? forward + ? to strike.] (Gr. Antiq.)
     A celebrated legendary highwayman of Attica, who tied his
     victims upon an iron bed, and, as the case required, either
     stretched or cut of their legs to adapt them to its length;
     -- whence the metaphorical phrase,


  
     {the bed of Procrustes}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Procrustes
       n : (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 Theseus