Questions tagged [idiom]
The idiom tag has no usage guidance.
346
questions
7
votes
1answer
187 views
Maria mater Domini
The phrase "Maria mater Domini" appears in Pseudo-Papias Fragment X (A fragment attributed by J.B. Lightfoot to Papias of Lombardy, 1040s–1060s, author of the Elementarium Doctrinae ...
3
votes
2answers
119 views
Usage of fugio as an idiom to mean forget
I am confused how fugio is used grammatically when it is used idiomatically to mean forget. In Latin the regular word for forget is dedisco (to unlearn). However, usually the Latins used various ...
6
votes
1answer
225 views
What is Peniculus insinuating with his reference to Samian crockery?
Introduction and question
Pl. Men. 1.2.71.
Pēn.
Metuis, crēdō, nē forēs sămiae sient.
Pēniculus
You fear, I believe, that the doors may be Samian*.
* By [Henry Thomas Riley][1] translated as ‘of ...
4
votes
1answer
194 views
Two kinds of falling
The English verb "fall", when the subject is a human, has two main kinds of literal1 meaning as far as I can tell:
A change of position: Moving suddenly from higher elevation to lower. (The ...
4
votes
2answers
104 views
How should the phrase “in question” be translated into Latin?
I want to translate the phrase "in question" into Latin, as in:
Please deposit the car keys next to the car in question, and then leave by the main door.
How would I express this?
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Is this correct Latin, substitution in an epigram?
I have never taken Latin, but I enjoy languages, and particularly pithy quotes.
There is a legal principle De minimis non curat lex, which is usually translated as “the law is not concerned with ...
4
votes
1answer
91 views
How to say “Get well soon!”?
Salvete! My friend who loves Latin is sick and I want to tell him "Get well soon!" in Latin.
Is sanesco the right verb to use here? Should I use the present or the future imperative (mox ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
“Life decreed better!” in Latin
Sort of, related to my another qestion.
I am looking for mo secular (for the lack of a better word) version of a phrase "Di melius!".
While I know that deus could be interpreted as "...
5
votes
0answers
56 views
“From beyond the grave”
When someone does something after death — such as causing harm by their will — they can be said to act "from beyond the grave".
Is there a similar idiom in Latin?
Any era will do, although ...
6
votes
1answer
393 views
How does “quid causae” work grammatically?
I do not understand the grammar of quid causae = "[for] what cause", as in
Nescio quid causae fuerit, cur nullas ad me litteras dares
I do not know what the reason was why you sent me no ...
7
votes
1answer
118 views
UPDATE: How to translate “Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable?”
I am trying to translate the saying "Comfort the afflicted; afflict the comfortable" into Latin, but I don't actually know Latin, and I've run into a wall.
I think the verbs should be ...
5
votes
1answer
612 views
How do I say “like a bull in a china shop”?
Searching, I found this page, which says "de armento in Sinis tabernam", which sounds to me like a (bad) literal word for word translation.
How can I express the feelings behind the English ...
4
votes
1answer
414 views
Chasing Two Rabbits
While reading old Question: Two birds with one stone? I was reminded of the Russian expression: "A man who chases two rabbits will catch neither."
In English we speak of the futility of &...
9
votes
1answer
804 views
“With all due respect” in Latin
Several sites, including the notorious Google Translate, have Salva pace to mean "with all due respect".
However I could not confirm this from classical sources, yet we can find several ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” in Latin
What would be the proper Latin translation of:
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
The author of the quote is uncertain and, as far as I can see, it is not a proverb or a ...
3
votes
1answer
159 views
Closest equivalent of “Don't get mad, get even” in Latin
I am looking for the closest equivalents of the following phrase in Latin:
Don't get mad, get even.
Preferably not a word-by-word translation, but an 'established' phrase or proverb.
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Translation of “Quasi non sit veritate”
Quasi non sit veritate.
Searched and could not find anything.
Thanks in advance to those that can help translating.
This is from a “Tactical” training company.
4
votes
2answers
92 views
To throw is human
So, if
To err is human
translates to
Errare humanum est
what would be a good translation for
To throw (a stone or projectile) is human
I'm looking at proicere humanum est and mittere humanum est;...
3
votes
2answers
171 views
The proverb, “Talk bad about me, talk good, but just talk”
I once heard a phrase in Latin, as indicated in the title, whose context was that of people seeking a shabby kind of popularity or reputation in any of its forms.
What would the proper translation for ...
5
votes
2answers
519 views
“Ready, Set, Go!” in Latin
How would you translate the common sport phrase into Latin. Here is my thought thus far:
Ready.
It usually used to mean "on your marks". But I would like to take it as "prepare!", ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Expression warning that some things can't be easily undone and one might want to think about this a while longer?
For example, a tattoo can semi-permanently mark two people, indicating their relationship. Human relationships and individual behavior are unpredictable compared to the permanence of tattoos. Of ...
5
votes
1answer
79 views
Case of “machina” in “Deus ex machina”?
According to https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/machina#Declension the case of "machina" only can be nominative, vocative or ablative.
As the meaning of the phrase is "god descended on the ...
5
votes
2answers
63 views
Follow up “It's not a bug, it's a feature”
Following up Help translating "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"?, non erratum sed designatum came up as a great way to say "not a wrong step, but working as designed" as in ...
9
votes
1answer
3k views
Help translating “It's not a bug, it's a feature!”?
I know no Latin, but playing around with Google Translate I came up with "Non insectum opus est". Insectum seems like a good stand in for a generic bug, but maybe blatta is better (see http:/...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
How to say “To serve, not to be served” in Latin?
I would like to know how to translate the phrase "To serve, not to be served" in Latin.
It doesn't have to be a word for word translation. But, I want to know the phrase that would give the ...
3
votes
2answers
159 views
How do you say “one more [something]”?
Answers to the question Latin version of "non ho che un" or "je n'ai qu'un" suggest that English more than one can be translated to Latin as plus unum (even though there ...
6
votes
1answer
545 views
How to say “Happy Sabbath”
In our community we use to say "Happy Sabbath" or "Have a Blessed Sabbath" which have the same sense like "Shabbat Shalom", regarding to Saturday as the day of rest.
What ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
¿Was “grosso modo” popularised from Latin or Italian?
Grosso modo is a phrase of Latin origin, meaning "approximately". The phrase has been adopted in many languages (like English, French, Dutch, etc), as the referred link testifies. The ...
4
votes
4answers
221 views
Latin version of “non ho che un” or “je n'ai qu'un”
At least Italian and French have an idiomatic way to say "I have only one friend":
Non ho che un amico.
Je n'ai qu'un ami.
Finnish has the same thing: "Minulla ei ole kuin yksi ystävä....
3
votes
1answer
176 views
“Once upon a time”
The English phrase "once upon a time" at the beginning of a story immediately sets the genre and style to a great extent.
Is there a similar device, possibly a phrase, in Latin?
It does not ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Is this translation for “If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell.” correct?
I want to make sure this is the correct translation for “If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell.” Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta noveno.
14
votes
2answers
6k views
Feminine case 3rd-person version of “Veni, vidi, vici”
How does the famous saying:
Veni, vidi, vici.
have to be changed so that it describes a female person, such as in English:
She came, she saw, she conquered.
Reversing Google Translate gives ...
3
votes
0answers
98 views
What fresh hell is this?
“What fresh hell is this?” is a question frequently uttered (or so it has been reported) by writer Dorothy Parker, on such occasions as when the doorbell or the telephone rang, expressing her ...
7
votes
2answers
251 views
What is the source of the Greek phrase πύξ, λάξ, δάξ?
πύξ, λάξ, δάξ "by punching, kicking, and biting" is described by Wikipedia as an "epigram describing how laypersons were chased away from the Eleusinian Mysteries". Where is this ...
4
votes
2answers
377 views
Furtum est, secundum lege lata, contrectatio rei alienae fraudulenta
How to say this in proper, idiomatic, classical Latin?
Theft is, according to existing law, laying hands on others' (foreign, strange, belonging to others) things fraudulently.
Would one use the ...
5
votes
1answer
139 views
How would I say “From the mind of” in latin?
I'm making a journal for my girlfriend and would like to put "from the mind of [name]" on the front page. Sort of a play on "ex libris". If that doesn't really work, or sounds odd, "[name]'s thoughts" ...
19
votes
3answers
2k views
Are there native tongue-twisters in Latin?
Many languages have well established "tongue-twisters" (phrases difficult to articulate). In my native Spanish, "classic" examples are
Pedro Pablo Pinto Pérez Pereira, pobre ...
4
votes
2answers
49 views
Translation of the proper name “Memorial Day”
I have a healthy distrust of Google Translate, which translates the proper name "Memorial Day" into...
Diem in Monimentum
The reverse translation becomes "Day of Remembrance," which is accurate if ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
Proper use of “tenaciter servanda”
How would it be proper to characterise (adverbially or adjectivally) longus usus, opinio juris so as to mean a belief of law (belief of a legal requirement) in long use holding uninterrupted and ...
7
votes
1answer
165 views
Ending a letter in Latin
Salvete,
How would I sign my name at the end of a letter in Latin? Would the Nominative (Paulus) case be the normal way? Or do I need the ablative (Paulō) to imply "from/by Paulus"?
Gratias vobis ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Latin Phrase for “It goes without saying”
The title of the question pretty much sums it up.
I am looking for a Latin phrase for the English expression "It goes without saying." I am not sure if an analogous expression exists- although I would ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
Latin for “In war and in peace”
I remember reading long ago a pithy Latin expression for “in war and peace,” or “in war as in peace,” or something to that effect. The idea is that one might say, for example, that a certain truth ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
I Can't See the Wood for the Trees
In a recent conversation, with Joonas (in our site's chat room), about chess, the well-known English idiom "can't see the wood for the trees" came up. This phenomenon--whether caused by a ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
“Hunt like a wolf, feast like a god” — is the Google translation correct?
I want to translate this to Latin:
hunt like a wolf
feast like a god
Google gives me
sicut lupos venari
a deo quasi festum
To my understanding, the words are pretty much correct, but does ...
8
votes
3answers
438 views
Is this Latin statement idiomatic? (Can't quite link it to the English translation)
Consider the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 1:25. There are varied English translations of this verse (see here). The two most common are:
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of ...
6
votes
2answers
801 views
How can we say “not even wrong” in Latin?
The phrase "not even wrong" is thought to have originated from Wolfgang Pauli. The phrase was allegedly spoken in German before becoming a meme:
Das ist nicht nur nicht richtig; es ist ...
24
votes
3answers
8k views
What is bullshit in Latin?
If a statement is blatantly wrong or shows lack of interest in the truth, one can call it bullshit in English.
But how about Latin?
Is there something more strong and colorful than falsus?
I am not ...
4
votes
1answer
163 views
Idiomatic translation for family motto from English
When working on an improved version of our clan's crest, it was decided to add the motto (which had so far been absent from the design).
The motto in English is "no time for caution".
Related ...
2
votes
2answers
170 views
Amor est adequatio rei intellectus- is this correct for 'Love is the equalizing of understanding'?
I would like to find a Latin sentence similar to 'Veritas est intellectus rei adequatio' but with Amor instead of Veritas.
1
vote
1answer
64 views
idiom for 'Don't give up the day job'
One of my favourite phrases is 'Don't give up the day job' for when someone is not very good at something. I put together 'Noli labor a die dedere'. However 'labor' is more 'task' instead of 'job' and ...
