noli illegitimi carborundum

9.9

A funny fake Latin phrase that tells someone not to let cruel people make them give up

idiom
/ˈnoʊli ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmi ˌkɑrbəˈrʌndəm/

Offensive

: no dejes que los cabrones te hundan (vulgar, ofensivo)

The old sign above his desk read noli illegitimi carborundum as a daily reminder to stay positive.

Examples

Whenever her colleagues criticized her work, she would silently repeat noli illegitimi carborundum to herself.
He ended his speech with the phrase noli illegitimi carborundum to inspire the team.
Remember to noli illegitimi carborundum when facing challenges!
In tough times, just say noli illegitimi carborundum!
He ended his speech with the phrase noli illegitimi carborundum to inspire the team.
The old sign above his desk read noli illegitimi carborundum as a daily reminder to stay positive.
Whenever her colleagues criticized her work, she would silently repeat noli illegitimi carborundum to herself.

Synonyms

sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

vsnoli illegitimi carborundum

Informal

8.7

A phrase that says hurt to the body is worse than insults and words do not hurt

encourages active resistance against hostile people rather than denying verbal harm

Antonyms

to give up

∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

Surface Forms

noli illegitimi carborundum main

Morphology

noli + illegitimi + carborundum

This is a humorous pseudo‑Latin slogan composed of non‑standard, non‑English tokens; the elements are not ordinary English words and do not transparently combine to the idiomatic sense. Even if a learner recognized parts as Latin-like (noli = 'do not', illegitimi ≈ 'illegitimate ones'), 'carborundum' is not genuine Latin and the overall meaning 'don't let the bastards grind you down' is an idiomatic, culture-specific slogan that cannot be reliably derived from the constituents by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Noli illegitimi carborundum is a joking, fake-Latin line: noli means 'don't', illegitimi stands for 'the bastards', and carborundum sounds like a grinding stone, so the picture is of someone being slowly worn away. That's why people use it to say 'don't let the bastards grind you down' or simply 'don't give up'.