Comments on: Vini, Vici, Excelsior, lorem ipsum

Question: Vini, Vici, Excelsior, lorem ipsum

The Man from Lardfork — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:02:54 -0800

Help me come up with a Latin motto for a fake college.

My fourteen year old cousin wants college hoodie for Christmas. Any college. There's plenty of colleges and hoodies around me, but I've got different ideas. I'm going to make her up a logo for a fake college and get it printed on a hoodie.

I think I can get it printed well enough that I'll be able to insist that it's a real college "outside Montreal." I'm working on a classy and academic looking emblem for the school, and I've come up with a list of real sounding college names to choose from. What I need is a Latin motto for the school to incorporate into the emblem.

My idea is that the Latin should be the only clue that it's not a real college. The problems are one: I don't know a damned thing about Latin, and two: I haven't yet come up with a funny, silly, or clever phrase to use.

I need to get the order in this weekend to get the hoodie done in time, so I need the hivemind's help. What's a good motto, in Latin, for my fake Canadian college?

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:18:42 -0800

I don't know Latin, but how about whatever's Latin for "Fake Latin Motto for Fake School"?

By: Bruce H.

Bruce H. — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:28:51 -0800

Non cogitum, ergo nihil summum. From A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Et lacrimatus est Iesus. John 11:5 from the Vulgate.

Wikipedia

By: milkrate

milkrate — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:30:14 -0800

Some options. I like "In hunc intuens" - look at this.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:34:57 -0800

Back when the National Lampoon was funny, they did a National Honor Society 'keystone' emblem with the motto 'LVII VARIETATES' on it.

By: Justinian

Justinian — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:40:29 -0800

Illegitimi non carborundum ?

It's not real Latin, but then this isn't a real school.

By: Countess Elena

Countess Elena — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:41:24 -0800

POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC would be funny as a coat of arms motto.

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:42:17 -0800

I found a very simplistic Latin Motto Generator. From the options there, I'd recommend "glacies et scientia" meaning "ice and knowledge" seeing how it's, ya know, Canada.

By: piedmont

piedmont — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:43:04 -0800

Semper Ubi Sub Ubi- Usually translated as "Always Wear Underwear"

By: b33j

b33j — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:43:41 -0800

There seems to be a good few here.

I like this one:
Estne tibi forte magna feles fulva et planissima? - Do you by chance happen to own a large, yellowish, very flat cat?

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:46:28 -0800

Wait, I'm silly, there are much more options in terms of using verbs and such if you scroll down on the site I listed. Play around with it a while.

By: slograffiti

slograffiti — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:46:36 -0800

hahahahaha.

per milkrate's suggestion.

i really like "Rhinoceros nunquam victus ab hoste cedit". --The rhinoceros never turns away defeated from the enemy.

By: Bruce H.

Bruce H. — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:48:16 -0800

>> John 11:5 from the Vulgate.

Sorry, I meant John 11:35, Jesus wept.

By: terranova

terranova — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:53:26 -0800

Die dulci freure. Have a nice day.
Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum. Garbage in, garbage out.
Quidquidne latine dictum sit, altum viditur. Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.
Diem perdidi. Another day wasted.
Facilis descensus Averno. The descent to hell is easy.
Malum in se. Inherently bad.
Mundus vult decipi. The world wants to be deceived.
Non semper ea sunt quae videntur. Things aren't what they appear to be.
Otium cum dignitate. Leisure with dignity.
Parva leves capiunt animas. Small things occupy light minds.
Plures crapula quam gladius. More people die partying than fighting wars.
Raram facit misturam cum sapientia forma. Beauty and wisdom are rarely found together.
Saturnalia. Unrestrained revelry.
Stillicidi casus lapidem cavat. Slow and steady does it. (Dripping moisture hollows out a stone).
Vae victis. It's tough to be a loser.
Vis inertiae. The power of inactivity.
Volo, non valeo. I am willing but unable.

By: Nick Verstayne

Nick Verstayne — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:56:00 -0800

From the Kevin Kline comedy "In and Out" Bob Newhart as the school principal stated the following as the school motto: (apologies for spelling)

Studare, Imapre, Partire

Or

Study, Learn, Leave

By: b33j

b33j — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:57:20 -0800

From the same site:

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

Her: So what does it say?
You: "Well, if you don't understand plain Latin, I'm not going to dirty my hands on you"

Endless fun.

By: hexatron

hexatron — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:02:39 -0800

Or you could pull a phrase out of this venerable verse:

Lucat bene derdego
Honit busis inero
Honomo demis trux
Summit causin summit dux.

(this is the internet version. I remember the last line as
Summit gisan summit dux.
or the second line could be
Fortibus es inero
but it doesn't make a lot of difference)

By: bad grammar

bad grammar — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:02:40 -0800

Mundus vult decipi (see James Branch Cabell, The Silver Stallion)

By: sunshinesky

sunshinesky — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:10:18 -0800

By the way, not sure if you've already taken this into consideration- If you're thinking about saying it's a "college outside of Montreal", you'd better remember to make it a University. College does not mean the same thing up here in Canada, and it means even less in Quebec.

By: steef

steef — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:43:33 -0800

Non serviam, "I will not serve." Attributed to Lucifer, used in James Joyce, and generally handy as the Latin "See you in hell, fuckers!"

By: I_pity_the_fool

I_pity_the_fool — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:43:46 -0800

Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo

By: triggerfinger

triggerfinger — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:45:52 -0800

Seconding Illegitimi non carborundum

(Don't let the bastards grind you down)

By: The Man from Lardfork

The Man from Lardfork — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:50:34 -0800

This is great. Now I need another ask.metafilter question to help me decide which one to use.

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:54:26 -0800

Hey, here's a wacky idea:

Given that the questioner said "I don't know a damned thing about Latin", how about maybe whenever you answer, you also provide translations for your suggestions?

I know, I know, it's probably crazy... I'm just throwing it out there to think outside of the box.

By: Jahaza

Jahaza — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:22:41 -0800

What's your fictional school like?

In vino veritas would work for some schools.

By: Jahaza

Jahaza — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:28:41 -0800

Here's one from the indispensable Latin Quips at Your Fingertips:

Quidquid praecipies, esto brevis.

(Whatever you want to teach, be brief.)

Horace, Ars Poetica, 333

By: niles

niles — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:39:40 -0800

Quidquidne latine dictum sit, altum viditur. Anything said in Latin sounds profound.

By: peep

peep — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:52:53 -0800

I don't know the Latin for this, and wouldn't trust an online translator, but I once saw a window sticker that said "Your University Sucks" in a collegiate looking font. If you like that one, maybe someone could translate to Latin.

By: Countess Elena

Countess Elena — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:11:41 -0800

Am I too late to suggest Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo?

By: Maias

Maias — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:12:21 -0800

Why not Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet itself?

It's fake Latin and it's a placeholder for text, so it kind of works on several levels..

By: parudox

parudox — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:32:25 -0800

"It's all Greek to me" in Latin? (Somebody help me out here.)

By: The White Hat

The White Hat — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:01:34 -0800

"HABETISNE LAC" - "Got milk?"

Alternately, "ATINLAY OTTOMAY"

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:06:07 -0800

"melior quam plures verus academies"

lit: Better than many real academies."

By: Demogorgon

Demogorgon — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:44:39 -0800

si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

"If you can read this, you are overeducated."

By: paisley henosis

paisley henosis — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:28:30 -0800

Please note that many of these are very loose translation of the actual Latin. A few of them to the point where the actual meaning in Latin is pretty divorced from the English it aims to translate.

~Diem perdidi. Another day wasted.

This is my favorite: pithy, short, and funny.

~ Et lacrimatus est Iesus.

This is my other favorite, though I feel like it might not fit your purpose as well, partly because it is such a famouse line, and partly because it has Jesus right there in in; that's a bit of a give-away, unless you make your fake school also explicitly religious. If you made it the University of St. Somebody-or-Another, though, then this would be perfect. I vote for Ignatius.

By: filmgeek

filmgeek — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:10:34 -0800

From American flyers: RES FIRMA MITESCERE NESCIT - literally-A firm resolve does not know how to weaken or "once you've got it up keep it up"

By: Freen

Freen — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:56:36 -0800

Fatum Iustum Stultorum: the fate of the stupid is just.

By: Freen

Freen — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:03:39 -0800

From David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest":
Te occidere pussunt, sed te edere non possunt, nefas est.

roughly translates to: they can kill you, but the legalities of eating you are quite a bit dicier.

On preview: Oooh boy, Countess Elena, you have surely made my day. I had no idea catullus could be so nasty. Now I know why we always got handouts of his poems, and not any of his full poetry books!