Ludi Latini: Roman Insults Handout
Ludi Latini: Roman Insults Handout
Ludi Latini: Roman Insults Handout
cucurbita!
you pumpkin!
asine!
donkey!
stulte!
idiot!
fungi!
you mushrooms! (for group
insults)
nebulo!
trash!
fatue!
fool!
caudex!
you blockhead! (stump)
nugator!
pipsqueak!
stolide!
dummy!
frutices!
you blockheads! (frutex =
bush)
vappa!
scum! (sour wine)
malum!
jerk! (malum is neuter:
bad thing)
matula!
you blockhead! (pot)
nugator ac nebulo!
trashy pipsqueak!
malus nequamque!
no-good jerk!
bucco! buccones!
you big-mouth! big mouths!
vappa ac nebulo!
scumbag!
pessime et nequissime!
totally no-good jerk!
caenum!
filth!
ructuose!
belcher! (full of burps; ructus is
burp)
spurce!
filthy!
stercoreus!
stinky! (manure-smell)
ructabunde!
spurcissime!
gas bag! (full of burps, big burper) totally filthy!
sterculinum publicum!
you public toilet!
(public manure heap)
ructatrix!
gas bag!
(woman who burps a lot, "burpress")
spurcifer!
scumbucket!
("bearer-of-filth")
luteus!
filthy! (muddy)
oraputide!
bad breath! (mouth-stinker)
impure!
nasty!
lutulente!
filthy! (muddy)
homo putide!
stinker!
impudice! impudens!
shameless!
pediculose!
full of lice! lousy!
(pedis = louse)
tramas putidas!
stinking trash!
(this is the "accusative of
exclamation")
propudium!
disgrace!
One of the most interesting aspects of Roman insults is their connection with slavery and
criminal culture. Many insults are based on the Roman idea of "scelus," which roughly
means "crime" in English, but scelus also has deeper connotations: a scelus is a kind of
pure wickedness, an outrageous violation of the moral order. This is hard to translate into
English, but the insults sure sound good in Latin: you can just call some a "scelus!", or
"sceleste!", or "scelerum caput!". A related series of insults has to do with the
punishments that were inflicted on criminals and rebellious slaves, especially whippings
and crucifixion (compare some old-fashioned English insults, such as "go hang yourself!").
scelus!
outrageous! (literally, "crime")
verbero!
hangdog! (whipping boy)
fugitive!
jailbird! (run-away
slave)
sceleris plenissime!
totally outrageous!
("most full of crime")
verberabilis!
hangdog! (whip-able)
fur! trifur!
thief! triple-thief!
scelerum caput!
completely outrageous!
(chief of crimes)
verberabilissime!
total hangdog!
(most whip-able)
furcifer! trifurcifer!
gallows-bird!
triple-gallows-bird!
scelerose! sceleste!
outrageous!
flagritriba!
hangdog!
(wearer-out-of-whips)
cruciarius!
gallows-bird!
(someone to be
crucified)
scelesta! scelestissima!
mastigia!
legirupa!
hangdog! (whips)
law-breaker!
somnias!
you've got to be kidding! (you're
dreaming)
abi igitur!
so go away!
vapula! vapules!
go hang yourself! (go get
whipped)
amove te!
get yourself out of
here!
vapulabis!
you're in for a whipping!
Iuppiter te perdat!
damn you!
i in malam crucem!
te Iuppiter dique omnes
go to hell! (go to the bad cross) perdant!
Juppiter and all the gods damn
you!
http://www.ou.edu/ludilatini/insultshandoutFall2003.htm