Word of the Day for Saturday, November 26, 2011
procrustean \proh-KRUHS-tee-uhn\, adjective:
1. Tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means.
2. Pertaining to or suggestive of Procrustes.
Soon they were operating a sort of procrustean ferry where the fares were tailored to accommodate the purses of the travelers. Ultimately all pretense was dropped and the immigrants were robbed outright.
-- Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
To force them into the machine would require a Procrustean mutilation of their basic humanity.
-- Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
Procrustean refers to the Greek myth of Procrustes, who was a robber who tortured his victims. According to mythology, he was killed by Theseus.
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