iron maiden

noun

1. a medieval instrument of torture fashioned as a box in the shape of a woman, large enough to hold a human being, and studded with sharp spikes on the inside.

iron maiden

noun

1. a medieval instrument of torture, consisting of a hinged case (often shaped in the form of a woman) lined with iron spikes, which was forcibly closed on the victim

Word History and Origins

Origin of iron maiden¹

1890–95; translation of German eiserne Jungfrau

Example Sentences

The end result, constructed at Harvard, resembled the nave of a cathedral built by aliens to worship radial symmetry, or an iron maiden for punishing giant cubes.

From New York Times

My body was a knot of raw nerves and nausea, my lungs crushed against my rib cage like a prisoner in an iron maiden.

From Literature

For gorehounds, the pleasure comes with each scene of graphic and fantastic carnage at the hands of contraptions that make an iron maiden look like a Sit ’n’ Spin.

From New York Times

When you enter the theater, it is hanging from the flies, glittering but baleful, like a carapace or an iron maiden.

From New York Times

I have not seen it, but it sounds like an iron maiden for the stovetop.

From New York Times