Meanings
From Augean (“pertaining to Augeas”) + stables. Augeas was a legendary king of Elis in Greek mythology who owned 3,000 divine cattle 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.[1]
An extremely filthy or untidy place or situation.
Example: "She ordered him upstairs immediately to clean the Augean stables of his bedroom."
A place or situation characterized by corruption or moral decay.
Example Sentences
1
After neglecting his house chores for months, his room looked like Augean stables.
2
The company's financial records were a mess, and it would take a herculean effort to clean the Augean stables.
3
The government's corruption scandal left behind an Augean stables of deceit and fraud.
4
The coach faced the daunting task of transforming the undisciplined team into a unified force; he had to clean the Augean stables.
5
The CEO inherited a company with deeply ingrained inefficiencies and outdated practices, resembling Augean stables.
