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01/24/2005: Trivia answers....
I was surprised that I got any answers to this one, and even more surprised that the answerer was Mr. Roboto of Thursday Night Fever. Crunk and classics, all in one package. And he assayed most of the answers (save for question III), and got them all right. Roboto, IMHO, is The Man, and let all bow down before him this week
The Answers:
I) My favorite group is...
Caterva carissima mea est...
a) The Beatles 6) Cimictus
b) The Rolling Stones 1) Lapides Provolventes
c) The Grateful Dead 8) Mortui Grati
d) The Beach Boys 2) Pueri Litoris
e) The Temptations 5) Inlecebrae
f) The Who 3) Ille Quis
g) The Monkees 4) Simitatores
h) Country Joe and the Fish 7) Iosephus Agrestis Piscesque
II) Timeless movie lines (match the Latin translation with the English original):
a) Fac ut gaudeam. 4) Make my day.
b) Conlige suspectos semper habitas. 1) Round up the usual suspects.
c) Certe, Toto, sentio nos in Kansate 2) You know, Toto, I have a feeling
non iam adesse. we're not in Kansas anymore.
d) Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert. 3) Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
III) Which of the following Latin translations is really a hidden insult (i.e., the tranlation we're giving is inaccurate, and hiding an insulting statement in the actual Latin)? For extra credit, what is the actual translation of the hidden insult?
No, excuse me, I believe I'm next.
Non, mehi ignosce, credo me insequentem esse.
I gave at the office.
In tabulario donationem feci.
I'm sorry we couldn't do business.
Stercorem pro cerebro habes.
Your place or mine?
Apudne te vel me?
The hidden insult is "Stercorem pro cerebro habes." While one party to a business deal might harbor this thought concerning the other party if the negotiations fall through, the literal translation of that phrase is, "You have shit for brains."
Come to think of that, that is a Latin phrase that can be useful in a wide variety of situations. As an extra bonus, no charge for today only, let me give you another multi-purpose Latin phrase: Futue te ipsum, et caballum tuum. Or: "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on." Here at DBV we're always trying to give you some useful knowledge for your day-to-day activities.
IV) Is this a sentiment you might think you'd hear voiced by a member of the Roma chapter of the NRA: Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapultas habebunt.
"When catapults are outlawed, only outlaws will have catapults." Sounds like it to me.
Len on 01.24.05 @ 09:09 PM CST
Replies: 2 comments
on Tuesday, January 25th, 2005 at 5:07 PM CST, Roboto said
As I revealed in the earlier comments, I used to make a little money on the side teaching dumb UoM students how to interpret the classics. That's the key to making money in this world: specialize in the obscure, and then teach it to others.
Thanks for the props though. Knowing Latin saved my rear in law school, because I rarely had to look up latin phrases and could usually figure them out if I got called on.
on Tuesday, January 25th, 2005 at 5:12 PM CST, Roboto said
Also, thanks for reminding me about my ex-girlfriend.
I really did drop that advanced Latin class because it was too painful to translate Latin when my Latin class girlfriend and I had just broken up a few weeks before. Being 20 was so dramatic.