Augean stable
noun
: a condition or place marked by great accumulation of filth or corruption
Did you know?
Augean stable most often appears in the phrase "clean the Augean stable," which usually means "clear away corruption" or "perform a large and unpleasant task that has long called for attention." Augeas, the mythical king of Elis, kept great stables that held 3,000 oxen and had not been cleaned for thirty years - until Hercules was assigned the job. Hercules accomplished this task by causing two rivers to run through the stables. The word Augean is sometimes used by itself, too - it has come to mean "extremely difficult and usually distasteful." We can refer to "Augean tasks," "Augean labor," or even "Augean clutter."
Synonyms
- cesspool
- Gomorrah
- sink
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
as a gubernatorial candidate he claimed that the state capitol was an Augean stable that desperately needed to be cleaned out
Word History
First Known Use
1610, in the meaning defined above
Augean stables
noun
as in sinks
a place of great vice and corruption as a gubernatorial candidate he claimed that the state capitol was an Augean stable that desperately needed to be cleaned out Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- sinks
- Gomorrahs
- dumps
- cesspools
- holes
- pigpens
- tenderloins
- pigsties
- dens
- hellholes