Meaning of PROCRUSTRATE'S BED in Phraseology Reference

PROCRUSTEAN BED

measure, under which they strive to forcibly adjust, adapt what does not fit it. Expression from ancient mythology. Procrustes Polypomenes, the son of Neptune, a robber and torturer, caught passers-by and laid them on his bed. For those whose legs were longer than the bed, he chopped them off, and for those who had them shorter, he pulled them out, hanging weights from their legs.

Handbook of Phraseology. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is PROCRUST'S BED in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• PROCRUSTEAN BED in Dictionary Dictionary Myths Ancient Greece,:
  - the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who were long, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  V Greek mythology the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: at the tall ones he chopped off those parts of the body that did not fit, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Popular Explanatory-Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  only ed. , a stable combination of books. what is the measure, under which smth. is forcibly adjusted. Procrustean bed fashion theory. Etymology: Name...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the New Dictionary foreign words:
  1) in ancient Greek mythology- the bed of the robber Procrustes, on which he laid his victims, and to the one who was longer than the bed, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Dictionary of Foreign Expressions:
  1. in ancient Greek mythology - the bed of the robber Procrustes, on which he laid his victims, and to the one who was longer than the bed, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
• PROCRUSTEAN BED
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Spelling Dictionary:
  procrustian lie, procrustian ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  in Greek mythology, the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who…
• BED in the Dictionary for solving and compiling scanwords.
• BED in the Concise Church Slavonic Dictionary:
  - bed...
• BED in the Lexicon of Sex:
  matrimonial bed; the main attribute and symbol of marital ...
• BED
  in botany, a plexus of fungal hyphae that forms on the surface (sometimes inside) of a plant (or other substrate) affected by a fungus. The upper part of L. is represented ...
• BED V encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  I (Desire-Francois Log? e) - modern. French painter, b. in 1823, was a student of Pico and at first he was engaged in depicting scenes of a village ...
• BED in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  1, -a, cf. 1. A place to sleep, a bed (outdated). Marriage l. 2. Deepening, along which a water stream flows, a glacier passes, ...
• PROKRUSTOVO
  PROCRUSTE'S BED, in Greek. mythology bed, on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; …
• BED in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  LODGE OF THE OCEAN, one of Ch. relief elements and geol. structures of the earth. Pl. St. 185 million km 2. Covers deep sea…
• BED in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron:
  (Desire-Francois Log e e) ? modern french painter; genus. in 1823, was a student of Pico and at first was engaged in depicting scenes ...
• BED in the Full accentuated paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
  lo"zhe, lo"zha, lo"zhami, lo"zh, lo"zhu, lo"jam, lo"zhe, lo"zha, lo"zhe, lo"zhami, lo"zhe, ...
• BED
  Bed in…
• BED in the Dictionary for solving and compiling scanwords:
  Solemn name...
• BED in the Dictionary of synonyms of Abramov:
  bed, bed, bed, sofa, bench, bunks, couch. Marriage bed. On deathbed. Cm. …
• BED in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
  abyssal, hammock, wedge, bed, bed, bed, channel, thalassocraton, …
• BED in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
  1. cf. 1) outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2) trans. A hole in the ground through which...
• BED in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
  
• BED in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  bed, -a (bed; channel; at ...
• BED in the Spelling Dictionary:
  l`ozhe, -a (bed; channel; at ...
• BED in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Ozhegov:
  1 Obs sleeping place, bed Marriage l. bed 1 is a depression through which a water stream flows, a glacier passes, and also ...
• PROKRUSTOVO
  bed. Cm. …
• BED in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language Ushakov:
  lodge, cf. 1. Bed (book poets outdated). Marriage bed. And to the joys on the bed of pleasures bashful beauty bowed. Pushkin. 2. …
• BED in the Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova:
  bed 1. cf. 1) outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2) trans. An indentation in the soil where...
• BED in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova:
  I cf. 1. outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2. trans. A hole in the ground through which...
• BED in the Big Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  I cf. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping royal, noble, rich persons; bed for such persons. II cf. Deepening …
• DOGMATISM in the Newest Philosophical Dictionary:
  (Greek dogma - opinion, doctrine, decision) - a term introduced by the ancient Greek skeptical philosophers Pyrrho and Zeno, who called any philosophy dogmatic in general, ...
• DORMITION OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree.
• Lion 15 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Bible. Old Testament. Leviticus. Chapter 15 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...
• PROCRUSTES in the Dictionary-Reference Who's Who in the Ancient World:
  Legendary Attic Rogue; had a bed in which he laid his victims; if their height was less than the length of the bed, he them ...
• YANZHUL IVAN IVANOVICH
  Yanzhul (Ivan Ivanovich) is a well-known economist. Born on June 2, 1846 or 1845 in Vasilkovsky district, Kyiv province (father - ...
• SOLOVIEV EVGENIY ANDREEVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Solovyov (Evgeny Andreevich) is a talented writer. Born in 1863; studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg. university. He was a high school teacher for a short time. …
• Mayor V Literary Encyclopedia:
  - central character N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector" (1835, second edition - 1841). In the list actors: Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. According to "Remarks...
• BOGDANOV in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  1. A. - pseudonym politician, philosopher, sociologist, economist and literary critic Alexander Alexandrovich Malinovsky. Since the mid 90s. …
• ANDREEVICH in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  - pseudonym of Evgeny Andreevich Solovyov - critic and historian of literature (other pseudonyms: Skriba, V. Smirnov, Mirsky). Wrote a number of essays...
• ROMANIA in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
  (Romania), Socialist Republic Romania, SRR (Republica Socialista România). I. General information R. is a socialist state in the southern part of Europe, in ...
• PROCRUSTES in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  in ancient Greek mythology, the nickname of a giant robber who forcibly laid travelers on a bed and chopped off the legs of those who were larger than his size, ...
• PETRESCU CAMIL in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (Petrescu) Camil (April 9 or 21, 1894, Bucharest - May 14, 1957, ibid.), Romanian writer, academician of the Academy of the SRR (1948). In the center of dramas ("Fairy Game", ...
• INDIAN OCEAN in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  ocean, the third largest ocean on Earth (after the Pacific and Atlantic). Located for the most part V southern hemisphere, between Asia to ...
• PLANET EARTH) in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (from the common Slavic earth - floor, bottom), the third planet in order from the Sun solar system, astronomical sign Å or, +. I...
• WAGE in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  pay. Under capitalism, wages are the converted form of the value, or price, of a specific commodity - work force. The use value of this…

The expression Procrustean bed occurs in colloquial speech quite rare, more often literary works. But what are they called Procrustean bed, and in what context is it most commonly used? Without knowledge of ancient Greek mythology, it is quite difficult to understand the meaning of the phraseological unit Procrustean bed. But let's try to figure it out.

Who is Procrustes?

Procrustes (also known as Damast, Polypemon or Prokopt) is a character in ancient Greek mythology whose main source of income was robbery. Procrustes was distinguished by cruelty and cunning, which terrified the population of Megara and Athens, since it was on this section of the road that he carried out his criminal activity. Procrustes entered into the confidence of the travelers, promising a hearty meal and a comfortable bed in his house. After the traveler lost his vigilance, he laid him on his bed and chopped off the unfortunate part of the legs that did not fit. If, on the contrary, the bed turned out to be large, then the robber stretched his legs to the required size. It goes without saying that people experienced severe pain and died in terrible agony.

Another source says that he tied a person by the arms and legs to trees and lowered them, as a result of which people were torn into several parts. And this man was not Procrustes himself, but his son Sinis.

Some time later, Theseus, the son of the god Poseidon, found out about this problem. Theseus went in search of the robber and defeated him. Then he put Procrustes on his own bed and killed him in the same way as he killed his many victims.

What is the meaning of phraseologism Procrustean bed today?

In our time, the Procrustean bed is the meaning of a kind of standard, under which they are trying to adjust by force. This expression is most often used when they want to show that these imposed actions can lead to Negative consequences which cannot be corrected later. But this expression must be used very carefully, as it may be appropriate only in rare cases.

The idiom “Procrustean bed”, as you might guess from the name, came to us from ancient times, when the bed was called a bed, more precisely, from Ancient Greece, the myths of which gave linguists a lot of phraseological units. This one eventually received several meanings, scientists even found out that the name of the owner was preserved by the Hellenes in only one of the options.

Procrustean bed - the meaning of phraseology

As a phraseological unit, the Procrustean bed is a symbol of a certain measure, a framework into which they forcibly try to shove someone or something, for the sake of accepted standards. Over time, this phraseological unit has acquired several meanings:

1. Conditions that limit freedom.
2. Moments that complicate the necessary actions.
3. A logical error that distorts an important meaning.
4. A truncated truth presented for someone's benefit.

An uncomfortable bed is also often called a Procrustes bed, but this is the simplest and most common option. In the following centuries, many writers resorted to this aphorism in numerous pamphlets and novels. The Procrustean bed is an example of Saltykov-Shchedrin's use, he called the literature of his time languishing on the Procrustean bed of mocking censorship abbreviations.

Procrustean bed - what is it?

Judging by Greek mythology, the Procrustean bed is a resting place on which the robber Procrustes laid travelers and subjected them to sophisticated torture. He stretched the small ones, and shortened the tall ones with a sword, cutting off the limbs. There is a version that the sadist had two such beds:

1. To stretch the body, as if on a rack.
2. With secure attachment to chop off arms and legs.

Who is Procrustes?

The stories about who Procrustes is vary somewhat. It is known from myths that he was the son of the god Poseidon, who chose a house near the road from Troezen to Athens as his place of residence. According to other sources, Procrustes' lair was located in Attica, on the way between Athens and Megara. Because of his cruelty, Procrustes was called one of the most dangerous robbers in Greece. Various sources mention several names of this sadist:

1. Polypemon (one who causes much suffering).
2. Damast (overcoming).
3. Procoptus (truncator).

There is a version that Procrustes had a son, Sinis, who became a parent: he attacked travelers and tore them to pieces, tying them to the tops of trees. Some researchers argue that Sinis is not the son of a famous robber, but he himself, only the Greeks for some reason came up with a different name for the sadist and unusual place torture, which was called the "bed of Procrustes". In support of the theory - that Sinis was killed by the same hero as Procrustes, this is confirmed by various sources.

Procrustean bed - myth

From the legends it is difficult to understand why the villain Procrustes came up with such "entertainment" with the reception of guests, but the mechanism was created by the original. He met travelers, invited them to the house to rest and spend the night, but instead of a comfortable bed, they ended up in hell. The trestle bed of Procrustes was a place for torture, the body of the prisoner was fixed with reliable clamps. If the victim was vertically challenged, the robber stretched it, as if on a rack. If the traveler came tall, then Procrustes cut off his arms and legs with a sword, and in the end - his head. In such a sadistic way, the owner tried to fit the prisoner under the bed.

Who killed Procrustes?

Myths say that the king who defeated Procrustes was named Theseus - the ruler of Athens, one of the great heroes of Greece. This allegedly happened near the Kefis River, when the hero was putting things in order in Attica, destroying monsters and villains. According to one version, Theseus met the robber by chance, and he himself almost fell into his trap. According to another version, he purposefully searched for the criminal in order to stop his atrocities, which Procrustes did not know about. Based on these hypotheses, the descriptions of the feat of Theseus also differ:

1. The king fell into a trap, but managed to cut the fastenings with an invincible sword, with which he had once killed the Minotaur. Then he pushed Procruste on the couch and cut off his head.
2. Theseus knew about the cunning device, managed to push the owner onto the couch. And when the clamps snapped into place, he cut off the head, which did not fit on the bed. This story gave rise to another phraseological unit: "shorten by the head."

Procrustean bed Book. Express. That which forcibly limits, adjusts something to one standard. The literature of the forties alone left an indelible memory behind it, that it was the literature of serious convictions. Knowing no freedoms, languishing hourly on the Procrustean bed of all sorts of shortenings, she did not give up her ideals, did not betray them.(Saltykov-Shchedrin. All year round). - Original: a bed on which, according to ancient Greek myth, the robber Polypemon, nicknamed Procrustes (in Greek - "stretching") laid the travelers he captured and stretched out the legs of those to whom this bed was large, or chopped off - to those to whom it was few. Lit .: Ashukin N. S., Ashukina M. G. Winged words. - M., 1960. - S. 504.

Phrasebook Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008 .

See what "Procrustean bed" is in other dictionaries:

PROCRUSTEAN BED- (from the own name of the mythical robber, who laid his victims on an iron bed and, depending on whether the legs were longer or shorter than it, he cut or stretched them). In figures. meaning: the measure under which they want to fit every business, even if it is ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Procrustean bed- From ancient Greek myths. Procrustes (Greek for "stretching") is the nickname of a robber named Polypemon. He lived by the road and tricked travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and for those for whom it was short, he chopped off the legs, ... ... Dictionary winged words and expressions

PROCRUSTEAN BED Dictionary Ushakov

PROCRUSTEAN BED- PROCRUSTRATE'S BED. see bed. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Procrustean bed- measure, measure Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Procrustean bed n., number of synonyms: 2 limited frames (1) … Synonym dictionary

PROCRUSTEAN BED- in Greek mythology, the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who were long, he pulled out (hence the name Procrustes stretching). IN figuratively artificial ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Procrustean bed- a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who were long, he pulled out (hence the name Procrustes stretching). In a figurative sense, an artificial measure that does not correspond to ... Encyclopedia of mythology

PROCRUSTEAN BED- PROCRUST'S BED, in Greek mythology, a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: he chopped off those parts of the body that did not fit in the tall ones, stretched the bodies of the small ones (hence the name Stretching Procrustes). IN… … Modern Encyclopedia

Procrustean bed- Procrustean bed. Wed The literature of the forties did not know any freedom, every hour languished in the Procrustean bed of all sorts of shortenings. Saltykov. All year round. November 1st. Polypemon, the son of Neptune, named Procrustes ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

PROCRUSTEAN BED- "PROCRUST'S BED", Moldova, FLUX FILM STUDIO, 2000, color, 118 min. Costume historical drama. Based on novel of the same name Romanian writer Camille Petrescu. Cast: Petru Vutcarau, Maya Morgenstern, Oleg Yankovsky (see. Oleg YANKOVSKY ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia

Procrustean bed- Acts of Theseus, central fragment of the murder of Procrustes, c. 420 410 BC. Procrustes (Procrustes stretching) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece, a robber (also known by the names of Damast and Polypemon), who lay in wait for travelers on the road ... ... Wikipedia

Books

• Legends about the people of the taiga (set of 3 books), Alexey Cherkasov, Polina Moskvitina. Time and life in this famous trilogy ("Hop", "Red Horse" and "Black Poplar") are subject to special canons. "Tales about the people of the taiga" open wonderful world with the irrepressible...

The Procrustean bed is called artificially created restrictions, the framework into which one or another person tries to drive a certain object or phenomenon. It could be anything: scientific work, a work of art, or someone's views on a particular subject.

This is also the framework, because of which it becomes impossible to show initiative, creativity.

A number of questions arise:

• what is a Procrustean bed?
• why is it called procrustean?
• Why is phraseology so important?

To answer them, we must turn to the origin of the expression.

How did the phraseologism "Procrustean bed"

The origin of phraseologism takes its origins in ancient Greek mythology. To understand what "Procrustean bed" means, one should recall the story of Theseus' exploit.

Who is Theseus

Theseus' parents were Aegeus and Ephra. Aegeus was the king of Athens, and Pittheus, the father of Ephra, ruled in Troezen, where Theseus was born. Shortly after his birth, Aegeus went back to Athens, afraid of losing his throne. Before returning to his city, he hid his sandals and sword under a stone, ordering his wife not to tell Theseus anything about his origin. The latter could find out about everything by moving the stone and taking the things of Aegeus; Theseus was with them and was supposed to appear in Athens.

Initially, Pittheus spread the rumor that Theseus' father was Poseidon himself, but when the young man turned sixteen, Ephra told him the truth. Theseus did what Aegeus demanded of him and went to Athens. The path of the hero ran through Isthmus of Corinth. This section of the road was considered very dangerous: it was full of monsters and robbers. Here Theseus met with Procrustes.

Who was Procrustes. Feat of Theseus

Procrustes (in some sources he is called Polypemon, Damastus and Procoptus) was one of the most famous and cruel robbers in those parts. Literally, his name means "stretching" (other variants of names are translated as "malicious", "overcoming" and "truncator").

The villain lured lonely wanderers to his house, offering them food and lodging for the night. When an unsuspecting traveler went to bed, Procrustes tied his body with straps to the bed (in his house there was a special bed for guests, in fact, victims) and began to torment him.

If the guest's body turned out to be longer than the bed, Procrustes chopped off all the parts that did not fit on it. If the length of the bed turned out to be longer, the villain crushed the bones of the victim with a large hammer, and also pulled out her joints until the human body was equal in length to the bed. All the guests of Procrustes died because no one could endure such torture.

There is a version that there were two beds for guests in Procrustes' house: tall people he placed on a short bed, and low - on a long one. In this case, not a single person whom he managed to lure to him could avoid bullying.

It is noteworthy that own death the robber took it on the bed of torture: There Theseus cut off his head. ancient greek philosopher Plutarch, recalling this story, noted that Theseus tried to follow the example of Hercules in everything, and he always dealt with the villains in the same way as he did with his victims. The bed turned out to be too large for the giant Procrustes, and Theseus cut off a part of his body that stood for him.

The popular expression "Procrustean bed" in rhetoric and philosophy

The meaning of this phraseological unit is familiar to everyone. educated person, but in colloquial speech it is used quite rarely. It was used in the sciences about the knowledge of the surrounding world: in particular, in rhetoric and philosophy.

The Procrustean bed in this area is the desire to drive out this or that postulate, phenomenon or incident. within certain limits through thick and thin. At the same time, neglect of individual features of this phenomenon or its addition to fictitious ones is inevitable.

In this case, of course, the reasoning person will come to an erroneous conclusion and present to himself or his opponent in a dispute the phenomenon in a distorted form. Procrustean bed can be considered both a logical fallacy and a trick, with which you can force the opponent to accept a certain point of view or picture of the world.

The latter will work against someone who does not have full information about a particular phenomenon or event.

Such a person will take a point of view that is beneficial to his opponent if the description of a particular object or phenomenon is sufficiently convincing and outwardly plausible.

Brief conclusions

From the history of the origin of the phraseological unit “Procrustean bed”, three options for its meaning can be deduced:

• in literature and Everyday life it means artificial restrictions, a pattern, a framework into which someone tries to drive certain judgments or phenomena;
• in science, it can also be a technique used to persuade an opponent to a certain opinion;
• in addition, self-deception can be considered a Procrustean bed in science, when a person tries to fit his opinion to some artificial template.