# Dropping in a little latin phrasing.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [April 23, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689 "2012-04-23T14:32:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689/101 "2012-04-25T13:36:28Z")

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Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689/102 "2012-04-25T13:40:12Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> Osti, yes, you’re right. Sorry.

_Grandissima_ looks like Italian to me. Of course you Romance language speakers probably understood a lot of the Latin Mass anyway. While I, the poor Anglophone, was stuck reading gibberish off cue cards!

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**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689/103 "2012-04-25T17:50:11Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses.

The pluperfect subjunctive is hot.

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**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689/104 "2012-04-26T13:39:58Z")

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> [@elbows](#):
>
> Really smart people don’t do that. They are more interested in connecting and clarity.

You’re thinking of really nice people. Really smart people are no less inclined to be assholes as anyone else.

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**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-in-a-little-latin-phrasing/619689/105 "2012-04-26T16:41:06Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> While I, the poor Anglophone, was stuck reading gibberish off cue cards!

You got cue cards? Wimp. I had to memorize that gibberish. Which brings us to one reason Latin is dropped casually into conversation: We pre-Vatican II altar boys enjoy demonstrating our superiority to everybody else. Nothing personal; we’re just better than the rest of you. 😉

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