Factotum and Procrustean

Two new words Factotum: A factotum is someone hired to do a variety of jobs, someone who has many responsibilities, a jack of all trade.

Example: Tessa, the office factotum, does the billing, answers the phones, helps out in the PR department, and even knows how to cook a mean blueberry scone- she's indispensable. Andrea in my school is a factotum. "fac" is a latin word for facio, meaning to make or do. "totum" means all. Therefore factotum is someone who does all. Other example: The intendant became the king's factotum. Gallop off to Texas, he said to the factotum who appeared at his call.


















Procrustean: Procustes was a mythical bandit of Attica who would waylay hapless travelers and attempt to fit them to his iron bed. If travelers were too long for the bed, he'd cut off their feet. If they were too short, he'd stretch them out. A procrustean bed has come to mean an arbitrary standard to which something is forced to confirm.

Even though student's poem unanimously won all county writing contest, the procrustean English teacher gave her an F for failing to do the i in her name.
I was shocked by their procrustean attitude towards completing the syllabus. I think a teacher is a best judge of determining the pace of the class.