cleanse the Augean stables

cleanse the Augean stables

To rid a place or entity of a massive or entrenched accumulation of something (often corruption). In Greek mythology, Heracles (Hercules) was tasked with cleansing the Augean stables—which had not been cleaned in 30 years. The local government is utterly mired in corruption and abuse, so I'm skeptical when some new elected official claims they're going to come in and cleanse the Augean stables.
See also: Augean, cleanse, stable
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • clear the Augean stables
  • Augean
  • cleanse
  • stable
  • clear the Augean stables of (something)
  • cleanse the Augean stables of (something)
  • a Pandora's box
  • Pandora's box
  • open a Pandora's box
  • Pandora
References in periodicals archive
Evidently, the electorate had reposed an extraordinary level of faith in Kejriwal in the belief that the Magsaysay award winner is the political messiah who will cleanse the Augean stables of corruption.
A midterm poll in Delhi can call Kejriwal's bluff
The calling of the outsider to cleanse the Augean stables possesses a mythic quality.
Can special counsel uncover truth?
It becomes the primary responsibility of the present provincial set-up, which came to power in the name of change and claiming for the eradication of corruption from the federating unit, to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation into the financial bungling in the Labour department and take the responsible to task regardless of any office or status in order to cleanse the Augean stables once and for all.
Labour dept, employees in financial straits
If you tell the standard-bearers of this army, and they are to be found everywhere, that they should have patience and wait for the political process to bring about change and cleanse the Augean stables, the ready response is that if the nation waits any longer there will be nothing left to save.
Rage of the virtue brigade