500 Foreign Words and Phrases You Should Know to Sound Smart (19 page)

stet
(Latin) (stet) (verb)

Literally, “Let it stand.” Used in editing, this indicates that a change marked by the editor should not be made, leaving a word or phrase in the text which had been marked for elimination.

After a fierce bout of editing, James had to go through again and mark STET over half of his changes
.

sub judice
(Latin) (sub YOU-dik-ay) (adv.)

Before the court, but not yet settled. Under consideration. Generally speaking, attorneys and others connected with cases that are
sub judice
aren’t supposed to comment in public on them… not that this stops anyone from doing so.

For most of the summer of 1994, the O. J. Simpson case was SUB JUDICE
.

sub rosa
(Latin) (sub ROH-zah) (adverb)

Secretly, surreptitiously. Literally, “under the rose.”

The meetings of the College of Cardinals, when selecting a new pope, are held SUB ROSA in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican to prevent any of its decisions from leaking out prematurely
.

Nota Bene

The rose is a complex symbol whose significance dates back to ancient Egypt, where it was believed to be a sign of the god Horus. In the Middle Ages it became symbolic of the mysteries of heaven. Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) in his poem
The Divine Comedy
made Paradise in the shape of a rose, with the traveler penetrating ever deeper within the petals to discover God at the center. More recently, of course, the novelist and semiotician Umberto Eco (1932–) put the symbol at the heart of his bestselling medieval murder mystery and philosophical thriller
The Name of the Rose
.

“Language is the armory of the human mind, and at once contains the trophies of its past and the weapons of its future conquests.”

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

T

tabula rasa
(Latin) (TAHB-you-lah RAH-sah) (noun)

Blank slate, literally “erased slate.” This refers to the idea that people are born without innate knowledge and that whatever they know comes from experience and perception. Others argue that humans are born with an inherent set of precepts.

Many people believe that the mind of a baby is a TABULA RASA. I tend to wonder if babies are born with Annoying Genes
.

Tempus fugit
(Latin) (TEMP-us FOO-git) (phrase)

Time flies. The expression was first used by Virgil (70
B.C.
–19
B.C.
) in his poem
Georgics
. It is frequently inscribed on the dials of old clocks.

At the end of every school term, students understand the notion of TEMPUS FUGIT. Sadly, for many schoolchildren at the end of the day, time not only doesn’t fly, it crawls
.

terra firma
(Latin) (TARE-rah FIR-mah) (noun)

Solid land. As opposed to water or air or, presumably, swamp land, quicksand, or an earthquake zone.

After landing from a turbulence-filled flight, Jason was glad to be on TERRA FIRMA
.

terra incognita
(Latin) (TARE-rah in-kog-NEE-tah) (noun)

Unknown land. The term, first used by Ptolemy (90–168) in his
Geography
, was placed on old maps to indicate lands that had not yet been explored. In modern usage, it can also refer to an as-yet-undeveloped body of knowledge.

To the early explorers, the New World was TERRA INCOGNITA
.

tête-à-tête
(French) (TAYT-ah-TAYT) (phrase)

An intimate conversation. Literally, “head to head.” The sort of conversations that French people are accustomed to have in cafés while puffing on Galoises and sipping endless glasses of wine before slipping off discreetly for an
affaire de coeur
.

Marcia and John were having a romantic TÊTE-À-TÊTE
that evening, one that was, unfortunately, interrupted by her husband
.

Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes
(Latin) (TIM-ay-oh DAHN-ay-os et DOH-nah fer-EN-tayz) (phrase)

I fear Greeks even bearing gifts. This quotation from
The Aeneid
by Virgil (70
B.C.
–19
B.C.
) refers to an episode at the end of the Trojan War. The Greeks who had besieged the city of Troy had, apparently, departed, leaving behind a great wooden horse. The Trojans prepared to bring the horse into the city as a symbol of their victory over the Greeks. However, the priest Laocoön sensed a trick and told the assembled Trojans, “I fear Greeks, even bearing gifts.” He was overruled (and devoured by a serpent that came from the sea). As it turned out, of course, he was perfectly correct. That night, as the Trojans slept, Greek soldiers emerged from within the wooden horse and opened the city’s gates to their compatriots, who had sailed back under cover of night. The sack of Troy and the slaughter of its inhabitants began with the treachery of the wooden horse.

Laocoön was right to say, TIMEO DANAOS ET DONA FERENTES, although in the end it did no good
.

Nota Bene

The story of the Trojan War and the fall of Troy is the most important myth of the ancient world. Contrary to popular impression, the poet Homer did
not
tell that story in
The Iliad
; rather he recounted an episode in the seventh year of the war in which the Greek champion Achilles (who probably looked nothing like Brad Pitt) killed the Trojan champion Hector. The most complete recounting of the end of the war and the episode of the Trojan horse is in Book ii of Virgil’s
The Aeneid
, written at least 800 years after Homer.

Timor mortis conturbat me
(Latin) (TIM-or MOR-tis kon-TUR-baht MAY) (phrase)

Fear of death bothers me. The phrase pops up in medieval English and Scottish poetry, doubtless reflecting the fact that the English and the Scots spent much of the Middle Ages waling on each other. Under such circumstances, it’s hardly surprising that people would be disturbed by death.

For most people, the sentiment TIMOR MORTIS CONTURBAT ME is not unusual. Of course, there are a few others, and they become bungee jumpers
.

touché
(French) (too-SHAY) (interjection)

Literally, “touched.” In a fencing match, when one combatant touches the other, he (or the referee) calls out this word to indicate a hit.

Georges cried, “TOUCHÉ!” as his sword struck Armand during their duel. Armand, bleeding from the blow, hardly needed Georges to tell him he was wounded
.

tour de force
(French) (tour de forss) (noun)

A show of skill. An exceptional achievement.

Emily’s performance on her literature exam was a TOUR DE FORCE and earned her an A
.

tout de suite
(French) (toot SWEET) (phrase)

As soon as possible.

I need that report on my desk TOUT DE SUITE! If you can’t manage that, you’d better start looking for another job
.

tout le monde
(French) (TOO leh mond) (phrase)

Everyone. Literally, “all the world.”

I’m not ashamed of our love! I want to trumpet it to TOUT LE MONDE! But we’d better wait a little while before we tell your mother about it
.

trompe l’oeil
(French) (tromp LOY) (noun)

Optical illusion. Literally, “trick of the eye.” This style was much used in the seventeenth century, particularly on ceiling paintings to give the illusion of expanded space. Its use dates back to ancient Rome, when fake doors and panels were sometimes painted on walls. The triumph of the art of perspective during the Renaissance meant that painters could more easily make use of this technique.

Most visual puzzles use a TROMPE L’OEIL effect
.

“Language is the archives of history.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

U

Übermensch
(German) (EOO-ber-MENSH) (noun)

Literally, “overman.” Superman; super-human being. This concept is particularly associated with the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), who suggested that humans should reject philosophies that were built on mercy and charity (he particularly had Christianity in mind) and strive toward the creation of a human who rose above lesser races and showed the way toward a brighter future.

Hitler was looking for the ultimate ÜBERMENSCH in his myth of the blond Aryan race; curiously he himself was short and dark
.

Nota Bene

Nietzsche’s philosophy has had a long, controversial life. He is often seen as a philosophic predecessor to Nazism and totalitarianism in general. He was also at the heart of one of the most notorious murder cases in the twentieth century, long after he himself was dead. In the 1924 Leopold and Loeb case in Chicago, two wealthy young men who had immersed themselves in Nietzsche’s thought murdered a young boy to prove their intellectual superiority over the police. They were quickly caught and only escaped the death penalty because of the pleading of the famous defense attorney Clarence Darrow (1857–1938).

Ubi solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant
(Latin) (OO-bee sol-i-TOOD-in-em FAHK-ee-unt PAH-kem ah-PELL-aHnt) (phrase)

They make a desert and call it peace. A bitter observation by the Roman historian Tacitus (56–117) that might, with justice, be applied to any number of today’s battlefields, starting with Baghdad.

ultra vires
(Latin) (UL-tra WEE-rayz) (adv./adj.)

Beyond power; generally, legal. If a company enters a contract concerning something over which it has no authority, the contract may be ruled
ultra vires
.

Richard Nixon felt himself to be ULTRA VIRES, but the Senate Watergate Committee and the House Judiciary Committee soon disabused him of that notion
.

ultima ratio
(Latin) (UL-tima RAHT-eo) (noun)

The last argument.

Making a last ditch effort to win the debate, Alan presented what he considered to be his ULTIMA RATIO
.

Ursprache
(German) (oor-SHPRAK-eh) (noun)

An original language. The foundation language of other languages.

Indo-European is the URSPRACHE language of most Western languages
.

Nota Bene

In 1786, the English scholar Sir William Jones (1746–1794) delivered a paper to the Asiatic Society in which he suggested that Sanskrit had so much affinity with both Latin and Greek “that no philologer could examine them all three without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists.” This was the beginning of the study of Indo-European, a linguistic group that links a vast number of languages including English, German, French, Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Farsi, and others.

ut infra
(Latin) (ut IN-frah) (phrase)

In bibliographic notation and scholarly discourse, as follows.

The idea discussed UT INFRA needs more consideration
.

ut supra
(Latin) (ut SOO-prah) (phrase)

As previous. The opposite of
ut infra
.

Please refer to the figures UT SUPRA to make your decision
.

“The tongue is but three inches long yet it can kill a man six feet high.”

—Japanese proverb

V

vade mecum
(Latin) (WAH-day MAY-kum) (noun)

Something carried about. Literally, “that which goes with me.” Generally a handbook or reference book that can be carried everywhere and consulted.

For my cousin, her atlas is her VADE MECUM, since she fears getting lost. No, really. Even going to the grocery store and back
.

vae victis
(Latin) (why WEEK-tees) (phrase)

Sorrow to the defeated; woe to the conquered. According to the Roman historian Livy (59
B.C.
–
A.D.
17), an ancient foe of Rome conquered the city, and the Romans complained about the conditions he imposed on them. To which the conquerer quite reasonably replied, in effect, “I won! Deal with it!”

If you don’t like having to pay off your bet, VAE VICTIS! You shouldn’t have wagered against me in the first place
.

Veni, vidi, vici
(Latin) (WAY-nee WEE-dee WEE-kee) (phrase)

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” The words attributed to Julius Caesar (100
B.C.
–44
B.C.
) after his conquest of a city in Turkey.

Verba volant, scripta manent
(Latin) (WARE-bah WHO-lahnt, SKRIP-tah MAH-nent) (phrase)

Spoken words leave, written words stay. A comment on the superfluousness of speech as opposed to writing. Today, of course, “writing” means texting and tweeting, something that seems far more insubstantial than many spoken words. The source of the original Latin proverb is unknown.

Since we know of little or nothing that Shakespeare’s contemporaries said, we can observe of the Bard’s writings, truly, VERBA VOLANT, SCRIPTA MANENT
.

verbatim
(Latin) (wehr-BAY-tem) (adv.)