Latin for All Occasions: From Cocktail-Party Banter to Climbing the Corporate Ladder to Online Dating-- Everything You'll Ever Need to Say in P

I have never written a book review before I've finished a book but this one has had me in stitches since I opened the front cover. After seeing it on the shelf of my local bookstore I picked it up and "Latin for all Occasions" has made my day. Where else can one read lines like "Prehende uxorem meam, sis!" ("Take my wife, please!") or "Braccae tuae hiant" ("Your fly is open"). For those who have studied Latin or who simply have an appreciation for it, this book is for you. As for me, "Velim sumere Mariam Sanguinariam, sis" ("I'll have a Bloody Mary, please").

This wonderful little book was presented to me many years ago after I had completed a Latin seminar. It was a wonderful gift, and I have found much use for the various phrases, and an extraordinary amount of humour that can be derived from the blandest of statements when translated into Latin. For example, the innocuous phrase 'Darn! There goes my beeper!' becomes quite funny in Latin:Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat!One has visions of Caesar fumbling through his tunic for some beeping object.So, if you need a little Latin on the golf course (Alterum ictum faciam); on the tennis court (minime latum!), at the beach when spotting a shark (Pistrix! Pistrix!), or you just need to say Illud Latine dici non potest (you can't say that in Latin), you'll be prepared with this volume. It even comes with a section on what to say when at the Vatican (where it might truly come in handy). For instance you might need to say 'Ubi possum potiri petasi similis isti?' when passing a cardinal or nun (translation: Where can I get a hat like that?).So, don't waste your time on watching reruns of Insula Gilliganis or game shows such as Periculum and Rota Fortunae -- pick up this book today, and merge the worlds past and present.Die dulci fruere. (Have a nice day.)

. . . but that's only because the common rabble would have loved it! Henry Beard has given the Latin enthusiast (and aspiring perennial pest) a laugh-a-minute phrasebook that tells you how to say just about everything from "Darn! There goes my beeper!" to "I'll have a hamburger, French Fries, and a thick shake." The entries are all conveniently sorted out into twelve categories -- separated by some really funny drawings -- such as "Lingua Latina Conlocutioni" (Conversational Latin) and "Lingua Latina Vitae Communi" (Social Latin), which makes finding the perfect greeting, or insult, a lot easier. There's even a handy little pronunciation guide so you'd be able to say what you want in perfect Latin. So the next time you find yourself in ancient Rome, be ready to beat the loquacious Cicero down with some good old-fashioned small talk by having a copy of "Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus" tucked somewhere in your toga!

This is a rather unusual book, with all manner of everyday and bizarre sayings nicely translated into Latin for your amusement/education/use at a dinner party. Just as with his very funny "French for Cats", the real humour lies in the really odd things he has taken the time to translate - things like "I believe that Elvis is still alive".It is a good fun coffee table book, and a must for any serious collector of great humour books.

I have both books of Latin for all Occasions...I dearly love them. Last Christmas I memorized a phrase..and at the annual staff gathering at our parish I hit our priest with a phrase. He looked puzzled and by then everyone was listening intentively to the explanation of what I had muttered....He asked what it was, he couldn't get one of the words....I told him then, pulling myself up to my full 5'1/2" tall heighth to his 6'4" heighth.... "Just what are porkbellies!" He roared, and so did the others...so, I have good things to say about these books. They can spread cheer, as well as educate. I think they are fantastic and need to be on everyone's bookshelves that enjoy the romance languages, and: cheering up this sometimes dreary "too realistic" world we live in.