Word.ws English Dictionary

Augean stables

Syllables: Au·ge·an sta·bles/ɔːˌd͡ʒiːən ˈsteɪbl̩z/US/ɔˌd͡ʒiən ˈsteɪb(ə)lz/

Augean stables noun: the stables where King Augeas kept his vast herd.

Noun

Augean stables pl (normally plural, singular Augean stable)

  1. (Greek, idiomatic, plural, plural-normally) The stables where King Augeas kept his vast herd.
    • We started with the idea of washing ourselves at the hotel; but on seeing the basin and water and towel provided, I decided not to waste my time playing with them. As well might Hercules have attempted to tidy up the Augean stables with a squirt.1891, Jerome K. Jerome, Diary of a Pilgrimage
  2. (idiomatic, plural, plural-normally) An extremely filthy or untidy place or situation.
    • She ordered him upstairs immediately to clean the Augean stables of his bedroom.
    • Nor is his diligence in this particular, leſs to be applauded, for having cleans'd the Augean Stables of ſo many Syſtems [of logic], from ſtudied Barbariſm and Delirium.1685, [anonymous translators], “The Translators to the Reader”, in [Antoine Arnauld; Pierre Nicole], Logic; or, The Art of Thinking: […], London: […] T. B. for H. Sawbridge, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    pigpen, pigsty, sty
  3. (figuratively, idiomatic, plural, plural-normally) A place or situation characterized by corruption or moral decay.
    • Yea, as yee loue your ovvne life, peace, vvelfare; Rouze vp your ſpirits, avvaken your Chriſtian courage, and ſet your ſelues heartily againſt the traitorly ſinnes of theſe times, vvhich threaten the bane of all theſe. Cleanſe yee theſe Augean ſtables of our drunken Tauernes, of our profane ſtages...1613 April 3 (Gregorian calendar), Jos[eph] Hall, “An Holy Panegyrick. A Sermon Preached at Paules-Crosse, vpon the Anniuersary Solemnity of the Happie Inauguration of Our Drad Soueraigne Lord, King...
    • Let us ſhevv our Duty to this our great and benevolent Sovereign; let us endeavour to alleviate his Cares, and him of all ungrateful Burthens; let us take upon our ſelves the heavy and long Labour of cleanſing the Augean Stables, and of cutting off all the Hydra's Head at once.1721 February 1 (Gregorian calendar), “Cato” [pseudonym], “Political Letters to the Author of the Lond[on] Journal, from Jan. 14. to Feb. 18.”, in The Political State of Great Britain, volume XXI...
    Synonyms:
    den of iniquity, sty

Examples of Augean stables in a sentence

  • Then in the autumn of that year, 1858, I was asked to go to the West Indies, and cleanse the Augean stables of our Post Office system there.a. 1883 (date written), Anthony Trollope, “‘Doctor Thorne’—‘The Bertrams’—‘The West Indies and the Spanish Main’”, in An Autobiography […]...
  • It is an Augean stables, even down to dung on some of the ceilings – hard going, discouraging, exhausting and tough.1953, Humphry Osmond, chapter 1953, in Cynthia Carson Bisbee et al., editors, Psychedelic Prophets: The Letters of Aldous Huxley and...
  • Darling, Johnny's house is like those Augean stables.2001, John Bayley, “Comédie Française”, in Widower’s House: A Study in Bereavement or How Margot and Mella Forced Me to Flee My Home, New...
  • Augean stables are everywhere under the Congress Raj—whether in agriculture or elsewhere.1972 August 23, Dahyabhai V. Patel, “The Insecticides (Amendment) Bill, 1972”, in Parliamentary Debates: Rajya Sabha: Official Report...

Synonyms of Augean stables

Forms of Augean stables

singularAugean stable

Origin of Augean stables

From Augean (“pertaining to Augeas”) + stables. Augeas was a legendary king of Elis in Greek mythology who owned numerous divine cattle (3,000 head, according to some later retellings) which produced a huge amount of dung in stables that had not been cleaned for over 30 years. The cleaning of the stables was the fifth of the twelve Labours of Hercules, which Hercules achieved by rerouting the Alpheus and Peneus rivers through them.

Questions about Augean stables

What does Augean stables mean?
Augean stables means the stables where King Augeas kept his vast herd.
How do you use Augean stables in a sentence?
Then in the autumn of that year, 1858, I was asked to go to the West Indies, and cleanse the Augean stables of our Post Office system there.
What part of speech is Augean stables?
Augean stables is a noun.
How do you pronounce Augean stables?
Augean stables is pronounced /ɔːˌd͡ʒiːən ˈsteɪbl̩z/ (UK).

Words near Augean stables in the dictionary

  1. augaptilid
  2. augaptilids
  3. Augar
  4. Augean
  5. Augean stable
  6. Augean stables
  7. Augeas
  8. Augeias
  9. augelite
  10. augelites
  11. Augelli

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Augean stables (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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