Illegitimi non carborundum
Illegitimi non carborundum (also: Illegitimis non carborundum ) is a pseudo-Latin saying . In English, the phrase (as well as several variants) usually with Do not let the bastards grind you down (as in German: Do not let the bastards get not small ) translated.
Emergence
The history of the origin of the saying is not exactly known. The lexicographer Eric Partridge (1894–1979) suspected that the Briton Stanley Casson (1889–1944) was the originator of the jokingly intended aphorism . Casson had studied Classical Archeology at St John's College , Oxford and worked first in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army during World War II and then as a liaison officer between Greek government agencies and the War Office .
"I wonder which Oxford 'Classic', exacerbated almost to desperation, coined this trenchant piece of exquisite Latinity?"
"I wonder which Oxford alumnus, who is on the verge of desperation, has shaped this astute example of exquisite Latinism."
Most slang linguists agree that the term was first used at the beginning of World War II among members of the British Intelligence Corps. From there it spread into the British Army, mainly in the officer corps. It became popular in the United States military after US General Joseph Stilwell used it as his motto during World War II. Later it was used (sometimes in different variations) in Australia. According to the non-fiction author Ralph Keyes , the phrase may have originated in the time of the Great Depression before the war, when inventing Latin proverbs was a popular pastime.
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meaning
Carborundum (in German: Karborund) is not a Latin word, but an alternative term for the chemical compound silicon carbide . Originally, the term was a protected brand name for this material, which Edward Goodrich Acheson applied for a patent in 1893 . The name is probably a combination of the terms carbon / carbide and corundum . The compound is used, among other things, as an abrasive . Since the grinding process is referred to as grinding in English , the use of the term “carborundum” serves to illustrate what is being ground in a figurative sense.
According to the classical philologists Wolfgang Kofler and Florian Schaffenrath , the term carborundum should sound like a Latin verbal noun ( gerund ). They are used to substantiate a verb . The term Illegitimi or Illegitimis are plural forms ( nominative or ablative ) of the basic shape Illegitimus (in German as: Unlawful ). In Latin, the term could theoretically have been used as a term for a bastard conceived out of wedlock , but such a use was not common in historical usage. A correct Latin formulation for the statement Don't let the bastards get you down would be something like : Noli nothis permittere te terere .
The New Republic magazine explained the meaning of the motto in 1967 with Don't let the so-and-so's shut you up . According to a lesser opinion , the phrase could also have originated from a mistake in the translation of the Latin expression Ne illegitimi carbunculi tibi in facie sint .
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use
- The then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives , John Boehner , had a stand with the phrase on his window sill in Washington, DC , as was found in a rather joking photo post on the media portal BuzzFeed in February 2013 .
- Illegitimum non carborundum is the motto of the band of Harvard University . In 1953, three members of the orchestra wrote a stanza of senseless Latin verses for the battle song Ten Thousand Men of Harvard , into which they worked the motto.
- In the 1958 novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe , the hero of the novel, Arthur Seaton, recalls having heard the motto from an acquaintance.
- In a reply to a tweet from US President Donald Trump , Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Senator John McCain , stated in March 2019 that he had often used the expression Illegitimi non carborundum in such cases .
variants
The term is used in several modified variants such as Illegitimati non carborundum , Illegitimis non carborundum , Nil illegitimi carborundum , Non illegitimi carborundum or Nil carborundum illegitimi .
In US politics, the slogan in the modification Noli permittere illegitimi carborundum by Senator Barry Goldwater became popular. He put up a plaque with this inscription in his office.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum is a phrase used in Margaret Atwood ’s novel The Handmaid's Tale , filmed as The Handmaid's Tale . Although it was a joke from the author's school days, the term was subsequently also used as a motto for feminist resistance to repression.
Referring to the sentence's tattoos, the author noted:
"I'll tell you the weird thing about it. It was a joke in our Latin classes. So this thing from my childhood is permanently on people's bodies. "
“The crazy thing is, it was a joke in our Latin class. This fun from my childhood is permanent on people's bodies. "
The term Nil carborundum used the British screenwriter Henry Livings (1929-1998) in 1962 as the title of a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company and a television comedy. This formulation was also used by the British writer Martin Charlton Woodhouse (1932-2011) in his 1968 novel Rock Baby .
Others
The English meaning (Don't let the bastards grind you down) was used as the title of two songs as well as a mini album:
- Motörhead , 1982, Song: (Don't let 'em) Grind you down , Album: Iron Fist , Bronze Records
- The Exploited and Anti-Pasti , 1981, mini album : Don't let 'em grind you down , Superville Records
- The Toasters , 1997, Song: Don't let the bastards grind you down , Grover Records
literature
- Wolfgang Kofler and Florian Schaffenrath , Pontes V, Comparanda 11 , BoD-Books on Demand , 2009, ISBN 978-3-7065-4643-0 , p. 355
- William Safire , Safire's Political Dictionary , Oxford University Press , 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-534061-7 , p. 329 (in English)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro, In the middle of life: Living with commitment and shaping your own future , mvg Verlag , 2005, ISBN 978-3-86415-582-6 .
- ↑ a b Eric Partridge: Entry Illegitimis non carborundum . In: A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English . Routledge, 2006, ISBN 978-1-134-96365-2 , pp. 593 (English).
- ↑ Stanley Casson (1889–1944) , biography on the website of the Monuments Men Foundation , Dallas (English).
- ↑ Ralph Keyes: The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When . Ed .: St. Martin's Publishing Group . 2007, ISBN 978-1-4299-0617-3 , pp. 9 (English).
- ↑ Carborundum: chemical compound trademark , Encyclopædia Britannica (English).
- ↑ Henry Beard, Dopey Exhortations are more forceful in Latin , in: Latin for even more occasions (extended edition), 1991, p. 101 (English)
- ^ William B. Thayer, Bill Thayer's Web Site: LacusCurtius , A Famous Phrase from Antiquity: Origin and Explanation .
- ^ The 10 Most Interesting Things On John Boehner's Desk , February 4, 2013, Buzzfeed .
- ↑ The College Pump: Ipso Facto! In: Harvard Magazine. 2012, accessed on December 14, 2019 (November / December 2012 edition).
- ^ The rest is propaganda: Celebrating Alan Sillitoe , October 29, 2012, Creativenottingham.com (English).
- ↑ Pritha Paul: What Is 'Illegitimi Non Carborundum'? Meghan McCain Fires Back At Trump. In: International Business Times . March 20, 2019, accessed December 14, 2019 .
- ↑ It is noted elsewhere that Goldwater also used the version Illegitimi non carborundum , see LitVerz .: Safire's Political Dictionary (English).
- ↑ a b Laura Bradley: Blessed be the fruit. Handmaid's Tale: The Strange History of “Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum”. In: Vanityfair.com . May 3, 2017, accessed December 14, 2019 .
- ↑ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt: The handmaid's tale. In: Books of The Times. The New York Times , January 27, 1986, accessed December 14, 2019 .
- ↑ Iron Fist at Allmusic (English)