What does the phraseological unit Procrustean bed mean, etc. What does the phraseological unit Procrustean bed mean? See what “Procrustean bed” is in other dictionaries

23.08.2020

A scheme into which the phenomena of life are forcibly adjusted.

If a person or phenomenon is artificially adjusted to a predetermined standard and thereby breaks and distorts its essence, they say about such a situation: “Procrustean bed.”

For example, you can say “Procrustean bed of theory.” This means that life is more diverse and complex than the theories that try to explain it and force life into rigid frameworks.

The expression “Procrustean bed” owes its appearance to a rather scary character in ancient Greek mythology.

The robber Procrustes (stretching) subjected the travelers he caught to terrible torture. He laid them on the bed and saw if it was the right length for them.

If a person turned out to be shorter, then Procrustes pulled him out, turning his limbs out of their joints; if he was longer, he cut off his legs.

The literature of the forties... not knowing any freedoms, exhausted hourly on the Procrustean bed of all kinds of shortenings, it did not renounce its ideals, did not betray them.

PROCRUSTEAN BED

A scheme into which the phenomena of life are forcibly adjusted.

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The expression Procrustean bed is found quite rarely in colloquial speech, more often in literary works. But what is called a Procrustean bed, and in what context is it most often 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 by the names Damastus, Polypemon or Procoptus) 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 activities. Procrustes gained the trust of travelers, promising a hearty dinner and a cozy bed in his home. After the traveler lost his vigilance, he laid him on his bed and cut 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.

After some time, Theseus, the son of the god Poseidon, learned about this problem. Theseus went in search of the robber and defeated him. After which 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 the phraseological unit Procrustean Bed today?

In our time, the Procrustean bed means a kind of standard that they try to fit into by force. This expression is most often used when they want to show that these imposed actions can lead to negative consequences that subsequently cannot be corrected. But this expression must be used very carefully, since it may be appropriate only in rare cases.

Procrustean bed
From ancient Greek myths. Procrustes (Greek for "stretcher") 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 those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.
Procrustes himself, Polypemon, had to lie down on this bed: the hero of ancient Greek myths, Theseus, having defeated Procrustes, treated him in the same way as he did with his captives...
The story of Procrustes was first found in the ancient Greek ischo-ricist Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).
Allegorically: an artificial standard, a formal template, into which real life, creativity, ideas, etc. are forcibly adjusted.

- ...
Sexological encyclopedia
- in ballistics, a part of a hand-held small weapon, including a butt and fore-end, ensuring the connection of parts of the weapon into a single whole...
Forensic Encyclopedia
- bed...
Concise Church Slavonic Dictionary
- 1. The base of the inflorescence. 2. A dense plexus of fungal hyphae on which fruiting bodies develop, known mainly in marsupials and imperfect fungi...
Dictionary of botanical terms
- I - modern. French painter, b. in 1823, was a student of Pico and at first was engaged in depicting scenes of rural life, and then began to paint, in addition, paintings of religious and historical everyday content...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- in botany, a plexus of fungal hyphae formed on the surface of a plant infected by a fungus. The upper part of the leaf is represented by a mass of closely spaced conidia with conidia or individual fruiting bodies...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- in Greek mythology, a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: the tall ones cut off those parts of the body that did not fit, the small ones he stretched the bodies...
Modern encyclopedia
- in Greek mythology, a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers down: those whose bed was short, he cut off their legs; I pulled out those who were too long...
Large encyclopedic dictionary
- Obsesslav. Suf. derived from the same stem as log; gj>...
Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language
- @font-face (font-family: "ChurchArial"; src: url;) span (font-size:17px;font-weight:normal !important; font-family: "ChurchArial",Arial,Serif;)   1) bed, bed; 2) marital status...
Dictionary of Church Slavonic language
- Wed. The literature of the forties did not know any freedoms; it was exhausted every hour on the Procrustean bed of all kinds of shortenings. Saltykov. All year round. November 1st...
Michelson Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (orig. orf.)
- From ancient Greek myths. Procrustes 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 to those for whom it...
Dictionary of popular words and expressions
- Book A standard to which one strives to forcibly fit or adapt something that is inappropriate for it. /i> An expression from ancient mythology. FSRY, 231; BTS, 503; BMS 1998, 347...
Large dictionary of Russian sayings
- bed - 1) in ancient Greek mythology - the bed of the robber Procrustes, on which he laid his victims, and he cut off the legs of those who were longer than the bed, and those who were shorter. - pulled them out...
- In the figures...
Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
- adj., number of synonyms: 1 limited...
Dictionary of synonyms

"Procrustean Bed" in books

Chapter 3 Procrustean Tester's Bed

From the book Red Falcon author Shmorgun Vladimir Kirillovich

Chapter 3 The tester's Procrustean bed In Moscow, Ivan Fedorov first of all paid his respects to the head of the Aeronautics Research Institute, from whom he received a call, and then met with his mentor in flight test practice Valery Chkalov. Room

18. NOT A PROCRUSTES BED AT ALL

From the book Reality in Advertising by Reeves Rosser

18. NOT A PROCRUSTES BED AT ALL The hero of one of the myths, King Procrustes, had a bed that had to be exactly the right length for any guests. If the guest turned out to be too short, he was pulled up on the rack and stretched, which, by the way, caused him significant

Book II. Modern times and the denial of antifragility (Procrustean Bed)

author Taleb Nassim Nicholas

Book II. Modern times and the denial of antifragility (Procrustean Bed) Chapter 5. Two different categories of chance using the example of the biographies of two brothers. Why Switzerland is not controlled from above. Difference between Mediocristan and Extremestan. Advantages of city-states and

Nonlinearity and “less is more” (and the Procrustean bed)

From the book Antifragile [How to benefit from chaos] author Taleb Nassim Nicholas

Nonlinearity and “less is more” (and the Procrustean bed) Fig. 19. This graph explains both the nonlinearity of the response and the principle of “less is more.” When the dose exceeds a certain amount, the benefits begin to wane. We have seen that everything is nonlinear either

V. In the imperial box

author

VII. In the Masonic lodge

From the book Satanists of the 20th century author Shabelskaya-Bork Elizaveta Alexandrovna

VII. In the Masonic lodge On the corner of two small but elegant streets located in the very center of Berlin (connecting the famous boulevard “Under the Linden Trees” with the central warehouse on “Friedrichstrasse”), there is a small gray house, seeming even smaller from the proximity of those around it

Bed

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (LO) by the author TSB

Procrustean bed

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary of Catchwords and Expressions author Serov Vadim Vasilievich

From the book 3333 tricky questions and answers author

Procrustean bed of adaptation

From the book Gods in Every Man [Archetypes that control the lives of men] author Jin Shinoda is sick

The Procrustean Bed of Accommodation The adjustment required of men in our patriarchal culture is similar to the Procrustean bed described in Greek mythology. The robber Procrustes, who lay in wait for travelers on the road from Megara to

2.11 Procrustean bed of equalization

From the book Power. Elite, people [Subconscious and managed democracy] author Zykin Dmitry

2.11 Procrustean bed of equalization All animals are equal, but some are more equal. (Orwell) Analyzing the collapse of the socialist system, one cannot avoid considering such a phenomenon as “equalization”. At one time, the theme of equalization was one of the cornerstones in operations

4. Procrustean bed scheme

From the book Nomenclature. The ruling class of the Soviet Union author Voslensky Mikhail Sergeevich

4. Procrustean bed of the scheme Only one thing testifies in favor of the Stalinist scheme of the social structure of the USSR: the fact that every Soviet citizen can really be classified into one of three categories - workers, collective farmers, employees (which is perceived as a synonym

Forecast or Procrustean bed?

From the book Time of Demographic Change. Featured Articles author Vishnevsky Anatoly Grigorievich

Forecast or Procrustean bed? One of the main reasons for practical interest in the theory of demographic transition is that it provides grounds for predicting future demographic trends, albeit in the most general form. It allows you to understand the meaning

How did the expression “Procrustean bed” come about and what does it mean?

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 2 [Mythology. Religion] author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

How did the expression “Procrustean bed” come about and what does it mean? The ancient Greeks tell the following about the origin of this expression. Along the coastal road from Troezen to Athens there once lived a robber named Procrustes. In his house there were two beds: one large and the other

Procrustean bed of education.

From the book Healing with Thoughts author Vasyutin Vasyutin

Procrustean bed of education. If upbringing does not allow a person to shed harmful and unnecessary prohibitions, then his attractions may manifest themselves in the form of necrophilia, homosexuality, excitable psychopathy or other forms of perverted behavior. Imperative and

Procrustean bed

Encyclopedic dictionary of popular words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Procrustean bed

Procrustes (Greek: stretching) is the nickname of the robber Polypemon, about whom Greek myths tell. He laid everyone who came to him on his bed; those for whom the bed was too short, he cut off the legs, and those for whom it was too long, he stretched out the legs. This is where the expression “Procrustean bed” arose, used in the sense of: a standard to which something is forcibly adjusted that is not suitable for it. The story of Procrustes was recorded by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).

Dictionary of catch words. Plutex. 2004.

Synonyms:

See what “Procrustean bed” is in other dictionaries:

- (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 standard by which they want to fit every matter, even if it... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

PROCRUSTEAN BED. see bed. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Measure, measure Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Procrustean bed noun, number of synonyms: 2 limited frames (1) ... Dictionary of synonyms

In Greek mythology, the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers down: those whose bed was short, he cut off their legs; those who were long, he pulled out (hence the name Procrustes the stretcher). In a figurative sense, artificial... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

The bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers down: those whose bed was short, he cut off their legs; those who were long, he pulled out (hence the name Procrustes the stretcher). In a figurative sense, an artificial measure that does not correspond... Encyclopedia of Mythology

PROCRUSTES BED, in Greek mythology, a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: the tall ones cut off those parts of the body that did not fit, the small ones he stretched the bodies (hence the name Procrustes stretcher). IN… … Modern encyclopedia

Procrustean bed. Wed. The literature of the forties did not know any freedoms; it was exhausted every hour on the Procrustean bed of all kinds of shortenings. Saltykov. All year round. November 1st. Polypemon, son of Neptune, named by Procrustes... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

- “PROCRUSTES’ BED”, Moldova, FLUX FILM STUDIO, 2000, color, 118 min. Costume historical drama. Based on the novel of the same name by Romanian writer Camil Petrescu. Cast: Petru Vutcarau, Maya Morgenstern, Oleg Yankovsky (see Oleg YANKOVSKY... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema

The Acts of Theseus, central fragment of the murder of Procrustes, c. 420 410 BC Procrustes (Procrustes stretcher) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece, a robber (also known under the names of Damasta and Polypemon), who lay in wait for travelers on the road... ... Wikipedia

Books

Tales of 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 of the People of the Taiga" opens up a wonderful world with irrepressible,...

Procrustean bed - boundaries into which they are forcibly trying to insert something; an inappropriate measure, which they nevertheless try to use,
a norm created artificially and acting voluntarily, an arbitrarily chosen requirement to which others of the same type are trying to fit.

The phraseology has its origin in the ancient Greek myth about the criminal Procrustes (other names Damastus, Polypemon), who robbed on the way from the ancient Greek city of Megara, located 40 kilometers northwest of Athens, to this same Athens. Procrustes caught travelers, put them in a certain form (bed), and if the bed was short for the unfortunate person, the monster cut off his legs, if it was long, he stretched it to the required size.

A more accurate presentation of the myth (if you delve into Wikipedia) indicates that the sadist Procrustes had two beds: large and small. He put short prisoners in the first, and tall ones in the second. That is, no one had a chance to avoid suffering.

Procrustes seemed to be the son of Poseidon, that is, the brother of the ancient Greek hero Theseus, who killed him. Although on the other hand the origins of Theseus are dark

“The Athenian king Aegeus, from the family of Erechtheus, married twice, but had no children from either wife. He had already begun to turn grey, and he had to face a lonely and joyless old age. And so he went to Delphi to ask the oracle about how to get him a son and heir to the throne? The oracle gave Aegeus a dark answer, which he could not explain to himself; Therefore, from Delphi he went straight to Troezeni, to King Pittheus, famous for his wisdom: he cherished the hope that Pittheus would understand the oracle’s fortune-telling for him.

Having delved into the words of the prophecy, Pittheus saw that the Athenian king was destined to have a son who, with his valiant deeds, would gain great glory among people. In order to make his family partake of this glory, Pittheus gave his daughter Ephra to the Athenian king, but when Ephra gave birth to a son, Pittheus spread the rumor that the father of the born baby was Poseidon, the god of the sea. The baby was named Theseus. Aegeus, soon after his marriage to Ephra, left Trezena and again retired to Athens: he was afraid that his closest relatives, the fifty sons of Pallant, would take over his power

Leaving Trezena, Aegeus buried a sword and a pair of sandals in the ground under a heavy stone block and ordered Ephra: when their son grows up and reaches such strength that he is able to move a block of stones, let her then force him to take out the sword and buried in the ground. sandals and with these signs will send him to Athens. Until then, Theseus should not have known anything about his origin.”

Feat of Theseus

“When Theseus was sixteen years old, his mother took him to a stone on which he was to test his strength. Without difficulty, the young man lifted the heavy block and took out a sword and sandals from under it. Then Efra revealed to her son who his father was and ordered him to go to Athens. The strong and courageous young man immediately began to prepare for the journey.

His mother and grandfather asked Theseus to go to Athens by sea, and not by land: the sea route was safer, and many monstrous giants lived along the dry route to Athens, and many wild animals roamed. In former times, Hercules cleared the earth of unclean monsters, but Hercules is in captivity in Lydia, and monsters and villains freely committed all sorts of atrocities. Listening to the speeches of his mother and grandfather, young Theseus decided to take upon himself the service to which, before him, Hercules had devoted himself.

...Beyond Eleusis, Theseus met the ferocious Damaste. He had a bed on which travelers who entered his house were supposed to lie down: if the bed was short for them, Damastus cut off their legs; if the bed was long, he beat and stretched the traveler’s legs until the bed was just right for him. Therefore, Damaste was also called Procrustes - the puller. Theseus forced him to lie down on a terrible bed, and since Damaste’s gigantic body was longer than the bed, the hero cut off his legs, and the villain ended his life in terrible torment.”

The myth of Procrustes is not original: in the Babylonian Talmud there is a legend that the inhabitants of Sodom had a special bed for travelers. They laid the guest in it and cut off his legs if they turned out to be longer than the bed, and tried to stretch out his limbs if they were shorter. For such atrocities, God destroyed the city of Sodom along with its inhabitants.