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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 1/19

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Procrustean bed

Procrustes was a fabled Greek giant and highwayman who fitted all his victims to an iron bed. If they were too short, he stretched them to fit; if too tall, he lopped off any part extending beyond the length of the bed. So Procrustean bed has come to mean any foreordained standard to which exact conformity is required.

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Comments (7)

bpath
5 years ago
Ah, such as school.
stacey_mb
5 years ago
I hope he doesn't run any hotels!
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If not for concrete, which the Romans invented, some of ancient Rome would not have been built at all. They had some amazing architecture. The Colosseum alone, according to Google, is the largest standing amphitheater in the world today.
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I never thought of "devil's advocate" as being on the losing side of an argument but rather taking the position that is less popular as a way to point out the flaws in the popular pov. And that wasn't necessarily being cantankerous, but a useful tool in testing the strength of the argument.
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Phrase of the day 3/19
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A slightly different version: This term originated in French about 1475 and began to be used in English about a century later. Sir Thomas More is credited with saying of a mediocre book that a friend had put into verse, “Now it is somewhat, for now it is rhyme; whereas before it was neither rhyme nor reason.” More was not a nice guy: he had William Tyndale burned at the stake for translating and having the Bible published in English. A Man for all Seasons is a great, if inaccurate, movie about him.
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Phrase of the day 4/19
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I've not heard that expression before...crazy as a loon, yes, but not bedbug.
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Jasdip
5 years ago
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced'. . Wore a tightly tied lace.
maire_cate
5 years ago
Jim - thanks - that's one I've never heard before. Not knowing the origin I would have guessed (incorrectly) that it had something to do with crustaceans.
User
5 years ago
Me too, maire-cate! I was guessing fossilized sea creatures marking geologic rock layers.

Jim, I very much enjoy the words and phrases you come up with. They make me *think*.
Jasdip
5 years ago
Jim, I came across a few tidbits like the ones I posted yesterday and today. Instead of starting a new thread, IS it ok to piggy-back on yours? I find them quite interesting. If you rather I didn't just say the word.
Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
Another new phrase for me. Good one!

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