You shall not pass (Re: One does not simply walk into Mordor)

Laurence Horn laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Sun Jul 14 21:06:06 UTC 2013


On Jul 14, 2013, at 4:31 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:

> No offense taken, though it's good to know there was an intended emoticon there.
>
> Today, one of my apps sent me the message, "You shall not pass!"
>
> Wikipedia traces this back to a calque of French: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_shall_not_pass

Learn something new every day; I only knew it as a calque from the Spanish "No pasarón", but I'm sure the wiki entry is right in placing the WWI before the Spanish Civil War. The second person English version above sounds more like a challenge from a pessimistic and/or sadistic professor.

LH
>
> Learn Ainu! https://sites.google.com/site/aynuitak1/videos
>
> On Jul 14, 2013, at 5:31 AM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>> oops, I should've added: ;-)
>>
>> It was late…
>>
>> -- Mark
>>
>> On 7/14/13, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>> Hahaha.
>>>
>>> I read the series yet again this year, followed by the Silmarillion, but
>>> with the movies, it's harder to sit down and read the whole thing!
>>>
>>> On Jul 13, 2013, at 9:11 PM, Mark Mandel <thnidu at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>>> One of the most memorable lines in the Lord of the Rings…
>>>>
>>>> Please: in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. I really don't think
>>>> that it's that prominent in _readers'_ minds.
>>>>
>>>> Mark Mandel, early member of Tolkien Society of America
>>>>
>>>> On 7/11/13, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>>>> One of the most memorable lines in the Lord of the Rings, this was said
>>>>> =
>>>>> by Sean Bean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dr21CMDyPuGo).
>>>>>
>>>>> This has taken off as a meme as can be seen at =
>>>>> http://unsanityfiles.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/one-does-not-simply-walk-int=
>>>>> o-mordor/. It's also a snowclone, using the first half as in "One does =
>>>>> not simply make a few piece of bacon."
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm probably behind the ball, but you can even toss your own phrases =
>>>>> onto Sean Bean at http://www.quickmeme.com/One-Does-Not-Simply/, along =
>>>>> with lots of other images and phrases.=20
>>>>>
>>>>> Google Maps has evidently also gotten into the act, using that phrase if
>>>>> =
>>>>> you try to get directions from the Shire to Mordor =
>>>>> (http://www.inquisitr.com/170524/google-maps-warns-one-does-not-simply-wal=
>>>>> k-into-mordor/), though when I try it, I get directions to Mordor =
>>>>> Tattoo.=20
>>>>>
>>>>> See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Simple_Walk_Into_Mordor.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list