Vox Nihili

Just a short post this morning ...

I ran across an interesting article the other day (well, interesting to a linguist, anyway) in Mental Floss: 20 Latin Phrases You Should Be Using. I didn't think most of them were all that useful*, but one - the last one on the list - jumped out at me ... vox nihili.

It's derived from another, more widely known Latin expression - vox populi, which means "the voice of the people," and is sometimes used by bloviating politicians trying to seem profound, and wanting you to think that they know what "the people" want**. Vox nihili, on the other hand, literally means "the voice of nothing," and is used to describe a pointless or meaningless statement ... such as those coming from bloviating politicians who want you to think they know what "the people" want.

Therefore, I propose a new motto for the United States Congress ...

...after all, they're not accomplishing anything, anyway.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Except for "Caesar non supra grammaticos," which will probably be of great use to Gonzo Dave.

** Usually, they actually do hear the voices of the people ... the Oil People, the Banking People, the Real Estate People, and so on.