Augean stables — noun (Greek mythology) the extremely dirty stables that were finally cleaned by Hercules who diverted two rivers through them • Usage Domain: ↑plural, ↑plural form • Topics: ↑Greek mythology • Instance Hypernyms: ↑stable, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
Augean stables — Au|ge|an sta|bles, the according to ancient Greek stories, the very dirty buildings where a king named Augeas kept thousands of cattle. ↑Hercules was ordered to clean them, and he did this by changing the direction of a river to make the water… … Dictionary of contemporary English
Augean stables — pl. n. pl. (place in) filthy condition, from King Augean s stables in Greek mythology, uncleaned for thirty years … Dictionary of difficult words
Augean stables — (Greek Mythology) stables of King Augeas in which he kept 3000 oxen and which were not cleaned for 30 years (Hercules cleaned the stables by diverting a river through them) … English contemporary dictionary
Augean stables — Auge′an sta′bles n. pl. myt the stables of Augeas, a legendary king of Elis, which had been left filthy for many years: they were cleaned by Hercules, who diverted a river through them … From formal English to slang
Augean stables — /ɔˈdʒiən steɪbəlz/ (say aw jeeuhn staybuhlz) plural noun Greek Legend the, the stables in which a king (Augeas) kept 3000 oxen and which had not been cleaned for thirty years. Hercules accomplished the task in a single day by turning the river… …
cleanse the Augean stables — clean up a large amount of filth or moral corruption, accomplish any large arduous task (as did Hercules when he cleaned the Augean stables) … English contemporary dictionary
Augean — Au·ge·an || É”Ë dʒɪËÉ™n adj. (Greek Mythology) filthy, dirty and corrupt (taken from the story of King Augeas dirty stables which had to be cleaned with a river); resembling the Augean stables that were extremely filthy … English contemporary dictionary
Augean — /aw jee euhn/, adj. 1. resembling the Augean stables in filthiness or degradation. 2. difficult and unpleasant: an Augean chore. [1590 1600; < L Auge(us) of AUGEAS (Gk Augeí(as) + us adj. suffix) + AN] * * * … Universalium
Augean — Au•ge•an [[t]ɔˈdʒi ən[/t]] adj. 1) resembling the Augean stables; filthy; rotten 2) difficult and unpleasant: an Augean chore[/ex] • Etymology: 1590–1600; < L Augē(us) of Augeas (< Gk Augeíās) + an I … From formal English to slang