Mind your language
AS IS NOW well known, Mr Michael Mates gave Mr Asil Nadir, the fugitive bankrupt, a watch inscribed, 'Don't let the buggers get you down.' This phrase was taken up in the wake of Mr Lam- ont's Commons statement by the Lead- er of the Opposition, who seemed to find it quite amusing.
For his part, Mr Major suggested that the gift of the watch was an error of judgment. Personally, I find it unsatis- factory verbally. The phrase should surely be Illegitimi nil carborundum' — dog-Latin for 'Don't let the bastards grind you down'. This little traditional joke derives from the grinding-stone with the trade name Carborundum. It includes an echo of Horace's nil des- perandum (Odes, I, vii, 27).
I hope Mr Nadir isn't too disappoint- ed not to have an elegantly inscribed classical motto on his watch instead of his English near-miss. Perhaps he'll come back to get it changed.
Dot Wordsworth
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