Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Noli Me Vexare!


Okay, now, do you love these or do you love these! Me, I love these. My friend Sandy, whose repertoire of Cool Gadget Knowledge is more extensive than anyone I know, sent them to me today. Some of us buy pencils at Toys R Us with "Max" or "Kate" on them, can't find Dominic, sadly; Sandy buys pencils with Latin sayings on them.

Max asked me what they meant - even though he's spent the last 2 years studying Latin it did not occur to him to attempt a translation on his own. Ah well, at least he knew they were in Latin. Ahem. But I am always game for a witty translation, particularly if it looks like it might involve something rude.

But I digress. My favourite moment was when the kids asked me what the middle pencil meant. I had looked up the others in my handy dandy Latin-to-English translator, but this one positively flung itself at me: Don't Piss Me Off. Well, I suppose technically it means Don't Vex Me, but I like the robustness of the more, err, vernacular translation, so I'm sticking with it.

Sandy, what would I do without you! My life would be dry and dusty, I'm sure. Now, with this pencil, no one will dare cross me.

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