Me in Place

Latin phrases with their definitions and the date and context in which I used them.

• ad infinitum —  “to infinity”  — Going on forever.
• ad nauseam — “to the point of disgust” — Literally, “to the point of nausea”. Sometimes used as a humorous alternative to ad infinitum. An argumentum ad nauseam is a logical fallacy involving basing one’s argument on prolonged repetition, i.e., repeating something so much that people are “sick of it”.
• cave canem — “beware of dog” — Found written on a floor mosaic depicting a dog, at the entrance of a Roman house excavated at Pompeii.
• caveat lector — “let the reader beware” — Used when the writer does not vouch for the accuracy of a text. Probably a recent alteration of caveat emptor.
• celerius quam asparagi co ur — “more swiftly than asparagus is cooked” — Or simply “faster than cooking asparagus”.
• Cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare. —  ”Anyone can err, but only the fool persists in his fault.”
• cygnus inter anates —  ”swan among ducks”
• de minimis non curat praetor —  ”The commander does not bother with the smallest things.” — Also “The chief magistrate does not concern himself with trifles.” Trivial matters are no concern of a high official.
• discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt —  ”Our students are stupid”
• Duae tabulae rasae in quibus nihil scriptum est —  ”Two minds, not one single thought” — Stan Laurel, inscription for the fanclub logo Sons of the Desert.
• experto crede —  ”trust the expert” i.e. me — Literally “believe one who has had experience”. An author’s aside to the reader.
• haec olim meminisse iuvabit — “one day, this will be pleasing to remember” — Commonly rendered in English as “One day, we’ll look back on this and smile”. From Virgil’s Aeneid 1.203.
• hora somni (h.s.) — “at the hour of sleep” — Medical shorthand for “at bedtime”.
• In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro —  ”Everywhere I have searched for peace and nowhere found it, except in a corner with a book” — Quote by Thomas a Kempis.
• infra dignitatem (infra dig) —  ”beneath one’s dignity”
• me vexat pede —  ”it annoys me at the foot” — Less literally, “my foot itches”. Refers to a trivial situation or person that is being a bother, possibly in the sense of wishing to kick that thing away.
• Melita, domi adsum — “Honey, I’m home!” — A relatively common recent Latinization from the joke phrasebook Latin for All Occasions. Grammatically correct, but the phrase would be anachronistic in ancient Rome.
• orbis non sufficit —  ”the world does not suffice”, “the world is not enough” — James Bond’s adopted family motto in the novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It made a brief appearance in the film adaptation of the same name and was later used as the title of the nineteenth James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough.
• pons asinorum — “bridge of asses” — Any obstacle that stupid people find hard to cross. Originally used of Euclid’s Fifth Proposition in geometry.
• quod licet Iovi non licet bovi —  ”what is permitted to Jupiter is not permitted to an ox” — If an important person does something, it does not necessarily mean that everyone can do it (cf. double standard).
• si vales valeo (SVV) —  ”if you are well, I am well” —  A common beginning for ancient Roman letters. Also extended to si vales bene est ego valeo (”if you are well, that is good; I am well”), abbreviated to SVBEEV.
• sic vita est — “thus is life” Or “such is life”. — Indicates that a circumstance, whether good or bad, is an inherent aspect of living.
• ubi mel ibi apes — “where [there is] honey, there [are] bees”
• Usus magister est optimus — practice makes perfect

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