Post #4 My top 5 United States mottos

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet!


Is it true that when you say something in Latin or Greek you automatically sound much cooler?


    1. Esse quam videri, to be rather than to seem (North Carolina)


This quote, which is attributed to the great Latin orator Cicero is all about keeping things real. I try not to be a poser, and I like when other people don’t try to be posers. Also, Latin mottos remind me of my six years of Latin in middle and high school, good times!     2, Dum spiro, spero, while I breathe, I hope (South Carolina)


It is just a coincidence that my top two state mottos happen to come from the Carolinas. Yet I really like the optimism of this Latin motto. Remind yourself of this when you feel like giving up. Also, the alliteration makes it fun to say.     3. Live Free or Die (New Hampshire)


Despite the fact that New Hampshire’s state motto has been co-opted by a certain movie franchise, I think it perfectly captures the American bravado and ideals of individualism and determination. Some degree of freedom is always sacrificed to be a part of a civil society, but this motto reminds us that we don’t like people telling us what to do.     4. Excelsior, higher (New York)


I like the simplicity of one-word mottos. Yet, despite its simplicity, I find this Latin comparative adjective - sometimes translated as ever upwards - powerful. For this word captures the idea of constantly striving for improvement.     5. Eureka, I have found it (California)


Another simple yet powerful one-word motto, the (likely apocryphal) story goes that the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes shouted ‘Eureka!’ and jumped out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked after realizing the eponymous principle of buoyancy. With California it refers to the discovery of gold that kicked off the gold rush of the mid-19th century. I must remember this word for the moment when I make my history-changing discovery. E pluribus unum, out of many one - United States motto What motto - in any language - can you think or make up that sounds the coolest?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post #7 My top 5 collective nouns for groups of animals

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! I don’t know who gets to come up with these terms and who gets to decide what they are, but there are some pretty awesome collective nouns for a groups of animals.        1. A murder of crows This group sounds both cool and tough.     2. A conspiracy of lemurs Lemurs always look like they’re up to something.     3. A consortium of crabs I like the idea of crabs sidling along but saying in a snobby, British accent, “We’re a consortium.”     4. A pride of lions It is only fitting that the kings of the jungle get a majestic name.     5. A flamboyance of flamingos They’re pink, have skinny legs and are often preening themselves, so this name seems fitting. I’m looking for suggestions. What should the collective noun be for a group of journalists?
Read more

Post #28 My top 5 portmanteaus

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We are beginning Week 10 of EQQ. A portmanteau is "a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others." Such words come in handy when trying to convey an idea that no one word totally captures. 1. Brunch (breakfast and lunch) When you eat a meal at 11 in the morning, it's not really breakfast, and it's not really lunch. That's where this term comes in handy. Brunch is probably the portmanteau that I (and most people) use most often. 2. Spork (spoon and fork) I'm a bit surprised that this utensil - which combines the uses of two utensils into one - is not more widely used. I am ready to join the movement to mainstream the spork.  3. Bionic (biology and electronic) The use of technology to enhance human bodies is an age-old idea, and, with recent technological improvements, as well as those to come in the near future, I think we will soon see a greatly increased use of bionics. 4. Tween (between ...
Read more