Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Ig-pay Atin-lay

Jesus, I was happy to find this:
a whole site about "Latin Phrases in Common Usage in English". Not Latin as in Latino, i.e. Desi Arnaz, Tony Orlando, Geraldo, and, well, you get my drift, but Latin Latin, the one we all sent up in school. Oot-fray Oops-lay.
I was good at Latin. I think the year I excelled at Latin was the last year it was ever taught.
It's just so cool. You can figure out root words from it, like, well. . . capybara or something.
There were a million or so phrases here, so I just took a yellow highlighter to some of the neat-o ones. So now it's time to play. . . GUESS THE LATIN PHRASE!
I'll give the real answer, then you can give your lame, inaccurate one. Does that seem fair?
OK, Phrase 1: A Posteriori. Well, what does that mean, class? Yes! That's right! Somebody's bum, probably a very fat one. Call Jenny Craig.
Annus Bisextus. This is either leap year, or the year we leap into bisexual activity and end up on Oprah pushing a scandalous memoir.
Here's one. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus. This has something to do with Harry Potter, and we don't like mega-sellers, so we'll leave it alone.
Homo nudus cum nuda iacebat. This might be erotic without the iacebat, which is about as sexy as wombat.
I'll group the next two, even though they have nothing in common: In Nubibus, and In Pontificalibus. This may be the origin of Supercalifragilistic, etc.
Ipse Dixit. Drinking out of a Dixie cup.
Membrum Virile. Too obvious.
Mitto Tibi Navem Prora Puppique Carentem. What the hell? This qualifies as "common useage"? By whom, some sociopathic professor who never goes out of his study?
Vita Mutatur, non tollitur. This has something to do with mutation into something you can't tolerate. Or maybe it's your dog.
Add up your score, now!
Seventeen: Go to the head of the class!
Four: Good effort.
1/2: What the fuck is wrong with you?