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Latin Sayings:
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 The Latin Forum
"Musica delenit bestiam feram." (Music soothes the savage beast.)
"Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?" (How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?)
"Nihil est--in vita priore ego imperator Romanus fui." (That's nothing--in a previous life I was a Roman Emperor.)
"Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est." (Yes, that is a very large amount of corn.)
"Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem!" (Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business.)
"Oblitus sum perpolire clepsydras!" (I forgot to polish the clocks!)
"Sic faciunt omnes." (Everyone is doing it.)
"Fac ut vivas." (Get a life.)
"Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!" (Let's all wear mood rings!)
"Insula Gilliganis." (Gilligan's Island.)
"Exterioris pagina puella." (Cover Girl.)
"Coruscantes disci per convexa caeli volantes." (Flying saucers.)
"Escariorium lavator." (Dishwashing machine.)
"Instrumentum aeri temperando." (Airconditioner.)
"Aeronavis abstractio a prestituto cursu." (Hijacking.)
"Nummus americanus." (Greenback ($US)
"Latine loqui coactus sum." (I have this compulsion to speak Latin.)
"Qui vir odiosus!" (What a bore!)
"Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat!" (Darn! There goes my beeper!)
"Labra lege." (Read my lips.)
"Non erravi perniciose!" (I did not commit a fatal error!)
"Fortunatus sum! Pila mea de gramine horrido modo in pratum lene recta
volvit!" (Isn't that lucky! My ball just rolled out of the rough and
onto the fairway!)
"Haec trutina errat." (There is something wrong with this scale.)
"Si Non Oscillas Noli Tintinnare" (If you don't swing, don't ring (Plaque on the Playboy mansion in Chicago.))
Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europe vincendarum. (Sometimes
I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe.)
Eheu, litteras istas reperire non possum. (Unfortunately, I can't find
those particular documents.)
Scio cur summae inter se dissentiant! Numeris Romanis utor! (I know
why the numbers don't agree! I use Roman numerals!)
Estne tibi forte magna feles fulva et planissima? (Do you by chance
happen to own a large, yellowish, very flat cat?)
Prescriptio in manibus tabellariorium est. (The check is in the mail.)
Braccae tuae aperiuntur. (Your fly is open.)
In dentibus acticis frustrum magnum spinaciae habes. (You have a big
piece of spinach in your teeth.)
Prospice tibi--ut Gallia, tu quoque in tres partes dividareis. (Watch
out--you might end up divided into three parts, like Gaul.)
Bene, cum Latine nescias, nolo manus meas in te maculare. (Well, if you
don't understand plain Latin, I'm not going to dirty my hands on you.)
Sane ego te vocavi. Forsitan capedictum tuum desit. (I did call.
Maybe your answering machine is broken.)
Vinum bellum iucunumque est, sed animo corporeque caret. (It's a nice
little wine, but it lacks character and depth.)
"Exempli Gratia." (Acronym "EG" - For Example)
"Id Est." (Acronym "IE" - That Is)
"Ad Libitum." (Acronym "AD LIB" - Freely)
"Ad Interim." (For the Time Being)
"Ad Libitur." (As Desired)
"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam." (to the greater glory of God - motto of the Society of Jesus)
"Dei Gratia." (By the Grace of God)
"In Dei Nomine." (In the name of God)
"Soli Deo Gloria." (To God Alone the Glory)
Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat.
(It's not the heat, it's the humidity.)
Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!
(God, look at the time! My wife will kill me!)
Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum.
(Garbage in, garbage out.)
Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse.
(I think we're on the same wavelength.)
Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.
(The designated hitter rule has got to go.)
Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis
exponebantur ad necem.
(In the good old days, children like you were left to perish on windswept
crags.)
Quomodo cogis comas tuas sic videri?
(How do you get your hair to do that?)
Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui.
(Bad kitty! Why don't you use the cat box? I put new litter in it.)
(At a barbeque)
Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?
(Ever noticed how wherever you stand, the smoke goes right into your face?)
Neutiquam erro.
(I am not lost.)
Hocine bibo aut in eum digitos insero?
(Do I drink this or stick my fingers in it?)
Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur.
(Oh! Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out.)
Cave canem (Beware of the dog.)
Cave canem...te necet lingendo (Beware of the dog, he may lick you to death.)
Dei gratia (By the grace of God.)
De mortuis nil nisi bonum (Say nothing but good of the dead.)
Diis aliter visum (The Gods decided otherwise.)
Divide et impera (Divide and rule.)
Fax mentis incedium gloriae (The passion of glory is the torch of the mind.)
Docendo discimus (We learn by teaching.)
Ex nilhilo nihil fit (From, or out of, nothing, nothing comes; nothing begetes nothing.)
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who watches the watchmen? (Juvenal))
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur (Anything said in Latin sounds profound.)
"Homo homini lupus" ((lit.: Man is to another man a wolf.", i.e., People are wolves to each other). For the correct use of this tag from Plautus, see for example
http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/killing/wolf.html )
"Quod omne animal post coitum est triste." Aristoteles
Every animal is sad after a copulation.
"Ars longa, vita brevis." Hypocrates
The work (art) is long, the life is short.
"De gustibus non est disputandum." (There's no accounting for tastes.)
"In his ordo est ordinem non servare." (In this case the only rule is not obeying any rules.)
"O diem praeclarum!" (Oh, what a beautiful day!)
"Astra non mentiuntur, sed astrologi bene mentiuntur de astris." (The stars never lie, but the astrologs lie about the stars.)
"si hoc legere scis nimium eruditiones habes." (essentially it says, "if you can read this, you're overeducated.")
"Cogito Ergo Doleo." (I think therefore I am depressed.)
"in flagrante delicto" (red-handed)
"Multa ferunt anni venientes commoda secum, Multa recedentes adimiunt"--Horace, Ars Poetica
(The years as they come bring many agreeable things with them; as they go, they take many away.)
"Exemplum de simia, quae, quando plus ascendit, plus apparent posteriora eius" --Saint Bonaventure (He doth like the ape, that the higher he clymbes the more he shows his ars. --Translation by Sir Francis Bacon)
"Anicularum lucubrationes" (Old wives' tales.)
"Sic transit gloria mundi" (thus passes the glory of the world)
"Errare humanun est - sed perseverare diabolicum" (mistakes are human, but to continue making mistakes is devilish)
"Vita luna" (crazy life)
"Re vera, potas bene." (Say, you sure are drinking a lot.)
"Primum viveri deinde philosophari" (Live before you philosophize. or Leap
before you look.)
"Quid pro quo?" (what for what?)
"a fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi" (The modern version would either be "between a rock and a hard place" lit: "a precipice in front, wolves behind"!)
"Nos morituri te salutant!" (which means "We, who are about to die, salute you" it was used when gladiatiors were about to undergo their punishment during the Roman Circus celebrations. They hailed Cesar with that saying.)
"Absconde obesito illegitimo" (Get outta here you fat bastard (Buddy Hacket))
"Vincit omnia veritas" (The truth conquers all)
"tum podem extulit horridulum" (you are talking shit)
"Illegitimus non carborundum" (Don't let the bastards wear you down) (is equally ungrammatical; and "carborundum" is not Latin. It is a 20th-century joke, as far as IĘcan tell first spread about by Gen. "Vinegar" Joe Stilwell (of the Burmese campaign in WW II). See
and the page after it. )
"stercus tauri" (manure of the bull (Bull Shit) )
"Verbis defectis musica incipit" (Music springs from failing words)
"Quod me nutrit me destruit" (What nourishes me destroys me, kind of like the more you care about something the more potential it has to cause you pain)
"cacatne ursus in silvis?" (Does a bear shit in the woods?)
"Nemo saltat sorbius, nisi infanus est.' Nobody dances when sober, unless they are insane. (my personal favourite :) )
"Navigare necesse est, vivere non est necesse' It is necessary to sail/navigate, but not to live.
"Tempus fugit" (Time disappears)
"Do ut des" (The "slogan", if you will, of Roman (pre-Christian) religion, meaning "I give so that you might give", referring to a Roman's reason for doing sacrifice, libations, etc.) (Thanks for the info Ian!)
"Bene est mihil" (I am well)
"Decisis pennis" (With disappointed hopes)
"Lupus in fabula" (Speak of the devil)
"Ut sementem feeceris" (You reap what you sow)
"Fiducia virorum in sinistra non in dextra est" (Real men don't attack)
"Sapienti sat" (Enough for the wise)
"Res ipsa Loquitur" (The thing speaks for itself)
"Derevaun seraun" (The end of pleasure is pain)
"Gustatus similis pullus" (Tastes like chicken)
"Felix Sit Annus Novus!" (Happy New Year!)
"Quid Fit?" (What's Happening?)
"Discedere ad inferos!" (Go to hell!)
"Per Ardua Ad Astra" (Through struggles to the stars -(Motto of the Royal Air Force (in WWII the cinemas on RAF bases were known as Astra Cinemas leading to the translation: "After work, to the cinema")))
"Quod licet bovi, non licet bon jovi" (If a cow can do it, it doesn't mean bon jovi can do it)
"Latine dictum, sit altum videtur" (What's said in latin always seems to be more interesting.
"Pax" and "In aeternum" ("Peace" and "In eternity," supposed secret greeting for Opus Dei)
"Opus Dei" (The work of God)
"Amo, amas." (I love a lass.)
"Utinam barbari alum tuum invadant!" (roughly "May barbarians invade your armpits!")
"Sed semper ubi sububi in caput meum" (But I always wear my underpants on my head)
"Visne saltare? 'Hylobates Fungosam' scio" (Do you want to dance? I know the 'Funky Gibbon')
"Veni, Vidi. Flati" (I came, I saw, I farted)
"Vidi, Veni, Adulteri" (I saw, I came, I committed adultery)
"Transire vinus forticulus" (Pass the port)
"Si facere, esse in Circus" (roughly "If I could do that, I'd be in a circus!")
"Eia! Tu! Os porcus!" (Hey! You! Pig face!)
"Eia! Tu gleba magna!" (Hey! You big lump!)
"Eia! Tu! Spiritus verminosa!" (Hey! You! Maggot-breath!)
"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur." (Many fear their reputation, few their conscience. -Pliny, Letters)
"Optimum est pati quod emendare non possis." (It is best to endure what you cannot change. -Seneca, Moral Epistles)
"Caelum, non animum, mutant, qui trans mare currunt." (Those who run off across the sea change their climate but not their mind. -Horace, Espistles)
"Tua mater est vacca foeda." (Your mother is a dirty cow.)
"Mea anima est cum te. Nostra animae sunt cum vobis." (My heart is with you. Our hearts are with you all.)
"Cibum amo!" (I love food!)
"Cemel Dosce" (Know Thyself)
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (roughly translated means "When all else fails play dead" - from the Red Green TV show's Possum Lodge Motto)
"Exegi monumentum aere perennius" (This very phrase had apparently been up for translation in a Latin class during Dr. Turner’s days as a student at Yale. One his classmates translated it as, “I have eaten a monument harder than brass” – to which the professor replied, "You had better sit down and digest it.")
"Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem." (Literally: "The one wellbeing of the defeated is not to hope for wellbeing." Colloquially: "The only hope of the vanquished is not to hope." - Virgil)
"In caelum cerevisiae est nullum, Itaque hic bibemus illum!" (In heaven there's no beer, that's why we drink it here! (Translation by BaJuL)
"Si hoc comprehendere potes, gratias age magistro Latinae." (Roughly: If you can read this, thank a latin teacher.)
"Agis Quod Adis" (Do well what you do.(The motto of Spruce Grove Composite High School (SGCHS)))
"Anno Domini" or "A.D." (In the year of the Lord)
"In hoc signo vinces." or "In hoc signo vincit" (Under this sign (the cross of God) thou shalt conquer.) - This Latin phrase was said to have been written in the sky before Constantine, before the battle at Milvian Bridge, North of Rome in 312 A.D. The story goes Constantine I (The Great) was faced down by a greater force of the Mongol Golden Hoard. He had a vision of a cross and heard a voice speak that line. Whereupon he had his men put crosses on their shields, and his forces carried the day, saving Constantinople for another 700 years. He then proceeded to make Christianity the official religion of the Eastern Empire, while Rome, awash in decadence, would fall to the barbarians c. 400 A.D. There's more, though. Not wishing to completely alienate his priests and advisors, he was not baptized himself until his death bed. A consummate politician, he would prefer to fold or win that deal as the last man standing rather than show his hand. (thanks to Don Gerdes for the extended story)
"Roma locuta est. Causa finita est" (Rome has spoken. The cause is finished.) - Well, obviously that means the Emperor speaks and his decree trumps all. "Wrong, camel breath!" as Johnny (Carsoni the Great) Carson said to Ed McMahon. The timing is in the post-400 A.D. era, and a feud erupts between two local Churches (now dioceses), say Corinth and Ephesus. The Bishop of Rome (now called "Pope," successor to Peter and acknowledged even then to possess the keys to the kingdom) sends a brief message. It says who is right and why and so the fight is ended. "Rome" is the pope, not an emperor; no do-overs by appealing the decision to the Great Umpire in the Sky Box. The Ultimate Umpire is who gave the bishop of Rome his authority to speak in the first place. (thanks to Don Gerdes for the extended story)
"Veritas Vos Liberabit" (The Truth Shall Set You Free)
"De omnibus dubitandum" (Everything should be questioned - Karl Marx)
"Malo mala mali quam mala equui." (I prefer the apples of an apple tree to the road apples of a horse.)
"Cuius testiculos habeas, habeas cardia et cerebellum." (When you have them by the balls, the heart and mind will follow)
"Non torsii subligarium!" (Don't get your knickers in a twist!)
"Selume proferre" (Towards the light)
"Torre et Ursi meritant pecuniment sed Porky non" (The bulls and the bears deserve to make money but the pigs deserve nothing)
"Carpe noctum!" (Seize the night)
"Bella Detesta Matribus" (War is the Dread of Mothers)
"Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes" (Standing on the shoulders of giants)
"Semper gumby" (Always flexible)
"Utrum per hebdomadem perveniam" (If I can just get through this week)
"Oderunt dum Metuant" (Let them hate, so long as they fear (Caligula, quoting an earlier Latin author))
"Semita exaro sunt tergum" (Track Till They're Back)
"Tempest Bebende!" (It's time to drink!)
Latin Sayings -
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