Vlad, Max, Dan and I have decided that snobbish Latin phrases don’t have enough variety (id est, English speakers really only use a small subset of the eminently quotable Latin out there). We have therefore decided to pick up our own little morem of selecting a trendy Latin phrase each month, and using it in everyday speech, as well as in our writing. This post attempts to explain our practice, how you can join us, and a few initial suggestions for ground rules. Of course, everything besides the snobbish aspect is flexible.
Alas, we are egalitarian snobs, and so if you wish to join us in our snobbery, please let us know and we will add you ad listum hic publicandum.
Without further ado, then, our current snobby Latin phrase until the end of March (more than a month for inaugural purposes) is ut mos est nostra, meaning “as is our custom,” although if you don’t know what it means, I don’t know why we snobs are telling you.
In general, we will try to rotate the announcements of the phrases, though I think we’ve picked April’s already. If you decide to use the snobby latin phrase of the month in an online writing of yours, please make it a link back to the post announcing the phrase (exempli gratia, if using this month’s, link back to this post’s Permalink). Also if possible, please give it the technorati tag “snobby latin.”
One final note: Dan may sometimes pick Greek snobby phrases, as he is even more of an intellectual snob than we, knows Greek, and indeed loves to remind people of this fact. Other languages are also generally allowed, provided that they are snobby intellectual languages like Latin and Greek, and the phrase you are using is underutilized in English.
Technorati tag: snobby latin
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