Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Procrustean string
     
         A fixed-length {string}.  If a string value is
        too long for the allocated space, it is truncated to fit; and
        if it is shorter, the empty space is padded, usually with
        space characters.
     
        This is an allusion to Procrustes, a legendary robber of ancient
        Attica.  He bound his victims to a bed, and if they were shorter
        than the bed, he stretched their limbs until they would fit; if
        their limbs were longer, he lopped them off.
     
        (1997-09-12)