Procrustean rule
- noun
- /prəˈkrʌstiːən ruːl/
- Formal
:
regla procrustiana
- Applying a Procrustean rule to every case ignores important individual circumstances.
Examples
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The company's Procrustean rule requires all employees to dress identically, regardless of job function.
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Many educators fear that a Procrustean rule stifles creativity in the classroom.
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The Procrustean rule stifled innovation in the workplace!
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Many educators criticize the Procrustean rules imposed by standardized testing.
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Applying a Procrustean rule to every case ignores important individual circumstances.
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Many educators fear that a Procrustean rule stifles creativity in the classroom.
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The company's Procrustean rule requires all employees to dress identically, regardless of job function.
Synonyms
1
7.8
A clear rule that tells people exactly what to do
A strict rule applied to everyone without room for differences
How Strict
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'Procrustean' (forcing uniformity harshly) directly modifies 'rule', so the compound means a rule that enforces uniformity in a strict, harsh way. This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition following standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings should be able to derive the overall sense.
Etymology
Procrustean rule comes from a Greek myth about a man called Procrustes who forced travellers to fit his bed by stretching them or cutting them to the right size. That's why it now means 'a rule that forces everyone to be the same, ignoring their differences'.