Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Illud iterum dicere potes!, May 18, 2003
This wonderful little book was presented to me many years ago after I had completed a Latin seminar. It was a wonderful gift, and I have found much use for the various phrases, and an extraordinary amount of humour that can be derived from the blandest of statements when translated into Latin. For example, the innocuous phrase 'Darn! There goes my beeper!' becomes quite funny in Latin:Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat! One has visions of Caesar fumbling through his tunic for some beeping object. So, if you need a little Latin on the golf course (Alterum ictum faciam); on the tennis court (minime latum!), at the beach when spotting a shark (Pistrix! Pistrix!), or you just need to say Illud Latine dici non potest (you can't say that in Latin), you'll be prepared with this volume. It even comes with a section on what to say when at the Vatican (where it might truly come in handy). For instance you might need to say 'Ubi possum potiri petasi similis isti?' when passing a cardinal or nun (translation: Where can I get a hat like that?). So, don't waste your time on watching reruns of Insula Gilliganis or game shows such as Periculum and Rota Fortunae -- pick up this book today, and merge the worlds past and present. Die dulci fruere. (Have a nice day.)
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very clever - and dangerous, April 20, 2000
This is a surprisingly entertaining book. The author makes a valiant and intelligent effort to come up with bona fide (be sure to pronounce the final 'e'!) Latin versions of phrases you have often heard but would never have thought could - or should - be translated. Find out what Cicero might say if you could bring him to your next sporting event, cocktail party, or business meeting. Even if you know almost no Latin, you can follow this guide and use it (if you dare); and even if you never actually use it, it is fun to read. It is more enjoyable yet if you actually understand enough Latin to recognize the creativity involved in devising colloquial translations for common phrases which, to tell the truth, may not mean much in the original American English. By studying this book carefully, you can become erudite, sophisticated, and a real pain in the neck.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cicero would have hated this book . . ., January 25, 2002
. . . but that's only because the common rabble would have loved it! Henry Beard has given the Latin enthusiast (and aspiring perennial pest) a laugh-a-minute phrasebook that tells you how to say just about everything from "Darn! There goes my beeper!" to "I'll have a hamburger, French Fries, and a thick shake." The entries are all conveniently sorted out into twelve categories -- separated by some really funny drawings -- such as "Lingua Latina Conlocutioni" (Conversational Latin) and "Lingua Latina Vitae Communi" (Social Latin), which makes finding the perfect greeting, or insult, a lot easier. There's even a handy little pronunciation guide so you'd be able to say what you want in perfect Latin. So the next time you find yourself in ancient Rome, be ready to beat the loquacious Cicero down with some good old-fashioned small talk by having a copy of "Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus" tucked somewhere in your toga!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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by Eugene H. Ehrlich
by Henry Beard
by Wallace
