How do you say "Don't let the bastards grind you down in Latin?"
But I like it for a new Atwood premise "The Dentist's Tale," don't you? ;-)
"Illegitimis non carborundum" is the phrase I'd seen most often but it
is pseudo-Latin (thanks for setting a lot of us straight on this,
Juggler-ga and Columbia.edu). Really some very interesting research
chasing the origins here. It's amazing this phrase has slid by in
many corrupted forms, finding its way onto signage, etc. I think it
even made it past a few priests.
Lots of variations on "corundum" too, but Tamil, Hindi, and Sanskrit
are *way* out of my league.
"The term corundum only sounds like Latin. The mineral is found in Sri
Lanka [new improved postcolonial name for Ceylon] and parts of India,
and its name in English comes from the Tamil word "kuruntam."
...Corundum: Hindi "kurund" or the Tamil "kurundam," describing a
native stone of India.
...Corundum is from the Sanskrit word for "kurivinda."
Ow, my head hurts,
V
As noted above, though, carborundum is not real a Latin word.
http://open-dictionary.com/Carborundum
As such, the University of Kansas page cited by Voila-ga, "A Famous
Phrase from Antiquity: Origin and Explanation" is clearly satirical. Introduction to Spanish / English Translation::
Sep 20, 2004 Dictionary of Latin American Spanish Phrases and Expressions. 2002. REF PC4822 H36. English-Spanish Spanish-English Medical Dictionary.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~dcoffey/latamres.htmHOME |
Hi.
I'd go with:
"Noli nothis permittere te terere"
See:
Latin Phrases for Work
http://www.qis.net/~jimjr/work104.htm
Insultmonger.com Latin
http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/latin.htm
Fun Latin:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/omnibus.html
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I should also note that there's a popular quote:
"Nil carborundum illegitimi"
"Don't let the bastards grind you down."
This appears on various web pages:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Nil+carborundum+illegitimi%22&btnG=Google+Search
HOWEVER, this is a fake Latin quotation. See:
Open Dictionary: Noli illegitimi carborundum
http://open-dictionary.com/Noli_illegitimi_carborundum
Also see these newsgroup messages:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8f1tt6%24q91%241%40saltmine.radix.net
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=8q83ki%24rn7%241%40nnrp1.deja.com&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522Noli%2Bnothis%2B%2522%2Blatin%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D8q83ki%2524rn7%25241%2540nnrp1.deja.com%26rnum%3D9
----------
search strategy:
"don't let the bastards", noli
I hope this helps. Textkit Greek and Latin Forums • View topic - Latin to English ::
6 posts - Last post: Feb 14, 2006As there isn’t a key for the Latin to English translation of the . Many times, English uses an infinitive phrase where Latin uses a
http://www.textkit.com/greek-latin-forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5199HOME |
English to Latin Translations - Examples of English to Latin ::
These are some of the translations into Latin of short English phrases. Latin Translation - Where Can I Find an English/Latin Translation of.
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/generalinfo/tp/052608EnglishtoLatinPhrases.htmHOME |
Many variants on the web for this phrase. Here are a couple more:
Illegitimis non carborundum (origin and explanation from Roman Law)
http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Language/Illegitimi/2.html
From Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/worldlit/canada/handmaid_plot.html
typo: "...not REALLY a Latin word."
Thank you very much...you have saved me from extreme error...
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