Illegitimi non carborundum is a mock-Latin aphorism, often translated as "Don't let the bastards grind you down". The phrase itself has no meaning in Latin and can only be mock-translated.
Illegitimi non carborundum is a mock-Latin aphorism, often translated as "Don't let the bastards grind you down". The phrase itself has no meaning in Latin and can only be mock-translated.
The phrase originated during World War II. Lexicographer Eric Partridge attributes it to British army intelligence very early in the war (using the dative plural illegitimis). [1]
The phrase was adopted by US Army General "Vinegar" Joe Stilwell as his motto during the war, in the form Illegitimati non carborundum. [1] [2] [3] It was later further popularized in the US by 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. [1]
The phrase is also used as the first line of one of the extra dog Latin verses added in 1953 to an unofficial school song at Harvard University, "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard". This most frequently played fight song of the Harvard University Band is, to some extent, a parody of more solemn school songs like "Fair Harvard thy Sons to your Jubilee Throng". The first verse is a nonsense sequence of Latin clichés:
The phrase, often accompanied by an English translation, has appeared in many places:
The sentence is Dog Latin, that is, it is a Latin–English pun with only a mock translation.
The first word varies between illegitimi and illegitimis. Illegitimi is presumably the nominative plural of illegitimus meaning "unlawful" or "outlaw" in Latin, but interpreted as English "illegitimate" in the sense of "bastard", in this case, used as a generic insult. [12]
Illegitimis may be intended as an ablative plural, but if carborundum is intended to resemble a gerundive, it is more likely intended as a dative plural, since the gerundive takes a dative of agent. The meaning, in either case, is "by the outlaws/bastards."
The second word non is a straightforward negation.
The third word, carborundum , is an abrasive used for industrial grinding. It is not a Latin word; instead, it is a genericized trademark [13] derived from the word corundum, a word of Tamil origin. [14] However, it resembles a Latin gerundive, so can be interpreted as a hypothetical "fit to be carborere-ed" or "to be carborere-ed". [15]
If carborere (3rd conjugation) were a Latin word meaning "to grind down", Illegitimis non carborundum would be correct Latin for "(It/One) must not be ground down by the illegitimates".
There are many variants of the phrase, such as Illegitimis non carborundum, Noli illegitimi carborundum and Nil illegitimi carborundum, all of them Dog Latin. Sometimes (as in The Handmaid's Tale), carborundum is prolonged to carborundorum, as if a Latin second declension neuter genitive plural of a noun ending in -um. This is purely jocular and cannot have a grammatical meaning in Latin.
In grammar, the dative case is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a drink". In this example, the dative marks what would be considered the indirect object of a verb in English.
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"Ten Thousand Men of Harvard" is the most frequently performed of Harvard University's fight songs. Composed by Murray Taylor and lyrics by A. Putnam of Harvard College's class of 1918, it is among the fight songs performed by the Harvard Glee Club at its annual joint concert with the Yale Glee Club the night before the annual Harvard-Yale football game, as well as at the game itself. It is also played or sung at other athletic meets or other intercollegiate contests, usually by the Harvard University Band.
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The Harvard University Band (HUB) is the official student band of Harvard University. The Harvard Wind Ensemble, the Harvard Summer Pops Band, and the Harvard Jazz Bands also fall under the umbrella organization of HUB. Currently, the band plays for all football games as well as home men's and women's ice hockey games. Occasionally it plays at men's and women's basketball games. The uniform for both football games and other formal appearances consists of a crimson wool HUB blazer worn over a white shirt with a black HUB logo tie, black pants, and black shoes. In the early days of the Band, white sailor hats and khaki pants were worn. For hockey games, the band wears a custom Harvard Band hockey jersey, modeled after the home jerseys for men's hockey, which features images of Bertha on the sleeves. Band alumni, known as crusties, maintain strong ties to the HUB, sometimes continuing to act as regular members well after graduating from the university. Illegitimum non carborundum (INC) is the HUB motto. Written correspondence from HUB or HUB members is frequently signed with INC.
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Don't Let The Bastards Grind You Down is the seventh studio album by The Toasters. It has a much more mature sound than their previous albums and wasn't as solely focused on one genre (2-Tone) as their other albums before it had been. The album's cover includes the supposed-Latin motto, "Illegitimis non carborundum", which is supposed to mean "one must not be ground down by the bastards", although it is largely faux-Latin, with "carborundum" actually referring to silicon carbide, a type of abrasive.
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The motto is shown on the Whitehorse Yukon Star masthead which accompanied a July 15, 1963 newspaper article.
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