Language Toby :)

[bluebrit]

I heard that line of text long ago and never had a reason to doubt it but I stand corrected. Pity really, 'Noli nothi permittere te terere' doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by bluebrit

...'Noli nothi permittere te terere' doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily.

Nor does it convey the message to those that do not know any Latin.

Originally Posted by ecchi

Its not Latin, its mostly gibberish.

The whole point of the phrase is to convey the message in a 'clever' manner that people will notice. Whether or not it's valid Latin isn't relevant.

In others words, lighten the fuck up.

[ecchi]

Originally Posted by Toby

Nor does it convey the message to those that do not know any Latin.

True, but then neither does your version. When I started this thread, I was just being funny. But when I realised you were taking it more seriously I did a couple of Google searches to check that I was correct (fortunately I was, because that was kind of "closing the stable door after the horse had bolted"). Apparently the word "carborundum" was used because of the chemical formula of a mineral used in the manufacture of grinding instruments. So to understand "Illegitimi non carborundum" you need to have studied both chemistry and engineering, and whereas I have no doubt that individually those are both more commonly studied than Latin, I would guess that people who have majored in both chemistry and engineering are rarer than hen's teeth. In other words, both our versions are unlikely to be understood by the man on the Clapham omnibus.

Originally Posted by Toby

lighten the fuck up

As I just said, when I started this thread I was just being funny. And when I posted the reply that you are complaining about I was actually replying (and correcting) BlueBrit's post that we both agree was incorrect. So perhaps you should take your own advice.

[ecchi]

Originally Posted by bluebrit

I heard that line of text long ago and never had a reason to doubt it but I stand corrected. Pity really, 'Noli nothi permittere te terere' doesn't roll off the tongue quite as easily.

Quite some years ago there was a craze in the more "upper class" English universities for making up quotes in fake Latin and Classic Greek. They sounded good but were actually bullshit. My favourite was "Ventosa Verie Vestabit" (say it slowly and "Ventosa / Verie / Vestabit" ~= "When toes are / weary / rest a bit"). I am guessing that "Illegitimi non carborundum" was coined as one of these faux Latin sayings.