"Don't let the bastards get you down!" 1945

[Wilson Gray]

On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
> "ILLIGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM"

I haven't seen it written down, before. But, it's been repeated to me
a million times. The first 999,999 times, I just didn't get it.

What? How does it mean that? "Carborundum" is a brand-name. _Non_ is
certainly a negative, but does _illigitimi_ really mean "bastards"?
I'm not sure. And there's nothing in the string that means "grind."
Besides, I didn't know that you had taken Latin! Was it in high school
or in college? Wait. You didn't go to college, right? Let me hear it
again.

Even after I caught on that it was supposed to be a joke, it still
didn't strike me as funny.

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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