Corvus oculum corvi non eruit

October 23, 2017 5:33 PM

Latin phrases translated into British football terms, for your defense against upperclass bullying.*
* interesting and useful for non fans too.
posted by Artw (26 comments total)

ugh

"you can't tell which way the train's been by looking at the tracks"
posted by pyramid termite at 5:45 PM on October 23, 2017

the extraordinary talents of Scipio Africanus, the Mauricio Pochettino of his day.

This turn of phrase deserves a standing ovation.
posted by all the versus at 5:46 PM on October 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

I think that makes Harry Redknapp the Pompey Magnus of his day.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:12 PM on October 23, 2017 [4 favorites]

Someday, instantaneous Google Translate will destroy class-based society.

(Meanwhile everything else Google will destroy money-based society, by effectively owning all the money and turning the rest of us back into serfs)
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:21 PM on October 23, 2017 [2 favorites]

Turning us back into plebs, Greg_Ace, turning us back into plebs.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:34 PM on October 23, 2017 [9 favorites]

I think that makes Harry Redknapp the Pompey Magnus of his day.

Genius!

I was prepared to hate this based on the headline, but it was good. Though I'd see something like 'we're just concentrating on one game at a time' or 'we're just worrying about getting 40 points' as a better replacement for Carthago delenda est, and I've never heard anyone talk about overhead kicks like that...
posted by Pink Frost at 7:01 PM on October 23, 2017

Carthago delenda est = we all hate Leeds.
posted by Segundus at 10:11 PM on October 23, 2017 [6 favorites]

Turning us back into plebs, Greg_Ace

We already are plebs; I stand by my word choice.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:10 AM on October 24, 2017

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur. Except in the case of Boris Johnson, of course.
posted by merlynkline at 1:11 AM on October 24, 2017

Carthago delenda est = we all hate Leeds.

Hmm, actually:
We still hate the Scousers
And Cockneys of course (and Leeds!)

Works perfectly.
posted by Pink Frost at 1:30 AM on October 24, 2017

Bigus Nevus
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:10 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I went to a better school than you

Thing is though, this isn't really true. At least not in terms of educational outcome.
If you adjust for intake level (that takes account of the fact that private schools have selection criteria) then the actual educational outcome is better in state schools.
In fact, outside of the very best private schools, state schools are better anyway.

So if you actually care about education you'll probably do better with state schools.
THe benefits of private schools (and there are many and they are considerable) is in the belief of others and in who you might meet whilst there. So you kind of have to drop Latin at random because it's all you have.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:00 AM on October 24, 2017

“Caesar non supra grammaticos” is clearly "Have you seen Benfica's red card and penalty against records in UEFA competitions?"
posted by lmfsilva at 5:10 AM on October 24, 2017

> Carthago delenda est = we all hate Leeds.

Or, from a certain era, "boring, boring Arsenal."

Great article, thanks for posting it!
posted by languagehat at 6:21 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I see MK Dons got a pass on the Carthago delenda est, then.
posted by ambrosen at 6:43 AM on October 24, 2017

I made 3 edits because of autocorrect before my comment came out correctly. I guess if I want to be an upper class bully, I really need to install a Latin keyboard.
posted by ambrosen at 6:46 AM on October 24, 2017

Good thing we Dutch don't need to resort to latin for incomprehensible gibberish. We have Johan Cruyff
posted by DreamerFi at 6:55 AM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

pecunia, si uti scis, ancilla est; si nescis, domina = Doing a leeds
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:18 AM on October 24, 2017

(and of course quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur = The thing about Arsenal is they always try to walk it in.)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 7:21 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

So if you actually care about education

Not really what no chinned weirdos mean by "better".
posted by Artw at 7:41 AM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

The majority of private schools don't really have selection criteria. they might have a baseline competency that they require, but the majority of state school pupils would pass this. If you have money they will happily take it and they're unlikely to turn you away. What the entrance exam often does is to stream the pupils into groups of supposedly similar potential so that the exceptional students aren't distracted by the less exceptional.

Private schools are remarkable for instilling a sense of worth in a student. Or if not worth, then some degree of indebtedness. Private schools students feel they have a right (or a duty) to achieve success. I wish there was an easy way of instilling that into children without paying exorbitant amounts of money.

All the class warfare bullshit is unfortunately a real aspect of private schooling, but i think it's not a symptom so much of the schooling and more of the families of the people who go to private school. Not everyone who goes to private school behaves like that. Those that do are insufferable though, and they are over represented in the political classes.
posted by trif at 8:03 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Carthago delenda est

Or in American Football parlance, "burn Penn State to the ground."
posted by explosion at 8:37 AM on October 24, 2017

To be honest the whole football thing was mainly just an excuse to write about how much I hate this type of thing by Johnson, Rees Mogg and their ilk. Not just because it's bullying, but because it gives Latin (and it's study) a bad name. Then a chat on Twitter reminded me about the incident at a conference, so I thought it'd be a good hook.

pecunia, si uti scis, ancilla est; si nescis, domina = Doing a leeds

This is spot on. Wish I'd thought of it. ("if you know how to use it, money is your slave; if you don't it's is your master" for those who haven't Googled it.)

Thing is though, this isn't really true. At least not in terms of educational outcome.

Oh aye. Completely agree. The 'benefit' of private school is, in most cases, the networking it creates, and the fact that it is no better than regular schooling is cloaked by the privilege that most of its graduates have coming in, which helps them succeed more than many people think.

It was just a rabbit hole I didn't want to go down in the article.

I think that makes Harry Redknapp the Pompey Magnus of his day.

YOU FUCKING TAKE THAT BACK SIR. Pompey is one of my heroes. Redknapp most certainly isn't.

Pompey is Herbert Chapman.
posted by garius at 8:56 AM on October 24, 2017 [6 favorites]

Oh and Pink Frost - that's way better for Carthago delenda est than what I had. Have updated the article and hat-tipped you at the end. Thanks!
posted by garius at 9:01 AM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

"The majority of private schools don't really have selection criteria...If you have money"

That's plenty selection criteria enough.
No one at a private school is going without breakfast or lunch.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 9:04 AM on October 24, 2017

That's plenty selection criteria enough.
No one at a private school is going without breakfast or lunch.

Oh. absolutely, but I was trying to refute the suggestion that you can get as effective an education in the state sector with better outcomes. I think private schools do outperform state schools, even when adjusting for other factors. Students at state schools get left behind much more quickly than they do at private schools, and it's not because of intelligence or aptitude. It's because more students check out mentally. It's because of class sizes and poverty and familial instability and any number of exclusionary problems in society. Private school students don't get the chance to check out so easily. The support network around them is far more robust, and well costed.
posted by trif at 9:27 AM on October 24, 2017