Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Arcades ambo



Arcades ambo [ˈɑːkədiːz ˈæmbəʊ] n.

1.) Two persons of the same tastes, profession, or character (often derogatory) (O.E.D. 2nd Ed.).

Etymology: Latin, 'both Arcadians', i.e. both pastoral poets or musicians. The phrase originates in Virgil's Eclogues.

"Forte sub arguta consederat ilice Daphnis,
compulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum,
Thyrsis ouis, Corydon distentas lacte capellas,
ambo florentes aetatibus, Arcades ambo,
et cantare pares et repondere parati" (Eclogues, Publius Vergilius Maro, ~38 B.C.).

"Daphnis beneath a whispering holm reclined,
And near him Corydon and Thyrsis join'd
Their flocks; his sheep one pastured on the lawn,
And one his goats with udders yet undrawn:
Both freshly blooming, both of Arcady,
Skill'd or to lead the lay, or to reply (Virgil, John Dryden, William Sotheby, and Francis Wrangham (trans.), 1830).

(The Arcadian or Pastoral State, Thomas Cole, 1834)

27 comments:

Jennifer Fabulous said...

Sadly the audio isn't working for me today. Sigh. I like hearing that fake man talk...

D4 said...

Not a chance I'll find a way to use this one correctly..

Zombie said...

I couldn't pronounce this correctly if I tried. lol.

Diego Sousa said...

great info as always

Unknown said...

Wow, now there's one that I know for sure I won't end up using in conversation, no matter how snooty the cocktail party.

ivy's closet said...

Its really hard to find somebody like that. I wonder if they agree on everything too.

Mai Yang said...

It sounds like a spell :D hehe

Unknown said...

Hmm another that I have never heard of. I find it interesting how this can be considered derogatory. I keep trying to imagine someone saying it in a negative tone but I can't picture it...

Astronomy Pirate said...

Seems like fancy way to say someone lacks originality.

Once Upon A Time... said...

re your comment: what's wrong with the picture of the woman with a hat? i think it's such a lovely picture :)

the audio isn't working for me, i would have loved to listen this word's pronounces! it looks so weird to me!

jos xx

Once Upon A Time... said...

re your comment: no that's not me in the hat, i found the pic on flickr. good observation: every winter those holes in the rocks get filled with sea water (some of them are like pools haha) and then, when summer comes, the water gets evaporated, leaving only salt. Then there's a whole process of purifying the salt and put it on the market. that place is actually in gozo and is very pretty!

yes the audio is fixed haha! never heard about this word! thanks for posting!

jos xx

netw said...

nice, now I have to find out when to use this correctly

themajessty said...

It's a compliment if I say that in a parallel universe, we are arcades ambo. (Did I use that right?)

themajessty said...

Actually, no. It's more of a compliment to myself. ;)

Meri said...

Am I the only one excited to try to tackle using this one? I'm going to do some research on it. I like it!

Meri said...

Perhaps I could use it to refer to the yuppies who stomp around the skyways with their swinging name badges who work for a certain Minneapolis conglomerate? hehehe. Talking heads.

GMSoccerPicks said...

I didnt know what the heck was an arcades ambo, but i like the style of your blog a lot. followed :)

Unknown said...

Thanks again

Salted Plum said...

Ooh, Thomas Cole, I love this blog!

Kevin Faulkner said...

Really interesting phrase, not heard of before, a subtle derogatory according to Dryden, but he could not have collaborated with the two Victorians you name. Would be good to know precisely where in the Ecologues. OED always a fertile source for obscurity !

Shutterbug said...

I like that piece of artwork.

nowaysj said...

Have a very old friend coming into the studio to record tomorrow and over the weekend. You've just given me the first song title.

Thanks bro!

Viitoebe said...

It looks like something taken from Harry Potter movies.
lol

Jennifer Fabulous said...

That IS a real man! I think all your audios should have that new sexy voice. It could put the fake man out of business. ;)

DEZMOND said...

oooh, I like the sound and taste of this one on my tongue :)

Jenny Woolf said...

Maybe you can look into just AMBO one day. I've always been puzzled by that village called Wendens Ambo. I think it might be the name of a hymn tune as well. Or maybe it's just a hymn tune and not a village, but just sounds like a village. (OK, I'll go an dgoogle it now, I've piqued my own curiosity) :)

Jenny Woolf said...

Thanks for your comment only blog. I can understand the name now but don't see reference to it on your post. I do love these Latin names on English villages - so interesting- my favourite is Toller Porcorum.

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