[assignmentmaker]

Originally posted by rainmaker

Hi, my name is Juulie, and I'm an Academi-holic. I've tried to look good: quoting classy sayings, and using big words, and mentioning things like Rumpole, and PBS. But the truth is, I only know enough Latin to fake my way through Freshman Biology. Hydrangea. Pileated. Radius Ulna. Stuff like that. It's all just a sham, an image, a shallow mask.

Is that enough confession to get me a translation?

As I remember, this is faux-Latin, said to be WWII General 'Vinegar' Joe Stillwell's motto. It's widely 'translated' as 'Don't Let the Bast*rds Grind You Down'. You can see the allusion to 'bast*rds' (Illegitimus) and 'grind' (carborundum - which I believe may at one time have been a trademark for an abrasives manufacturer . . . itself an allusion to carbon).