To assign someone or something to a particular category, often in an oversimplified or restrictive way. As a noun, it refers to a small compartment or narrow category that limits broader understanding.
From the small compartments in dovecotes used for housing pigeons, each bird having its specific assigned space. The metaphor transferred to human categorization, often implying oversimplification or inappropriate restriction.
Pigeonholing reveals the dark side of classification - while organizing can illuminate, pigeonholing can blind us to complexity and nuance! It's ironic that a system designed to house living, flying creatures became a metaphor for trapping ideas in rigid, lifeless categories.
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