table-layout:fixed
will resolve the expanding cell problem, but will create a new one. IE by default will hide the overflow but Mozilla will render it outside the box.
Another solution would be to use: overflow:hidden;width:?px
<table style="table-layout:fixed; width:100px">
<tr>
<td style="overflow:hidden; width:50px;">fearofthedarkihaveaconstantfearofadark</td>
<td>
test
</td>
</tr>
</table>