Puzzle of the Day
Bureaucracies have their own version of the English language with which
you must become familiar. To help you do so, here are some common
phrases. See if you can translate them.
Complex Ways of Saying Simple Things
- Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minikin.
- Members of an avian species of identical plumage congregate.
- Surveillance should precede saltation.
- Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
- It is fruitless to become lachrymose over precipitately departed lacteal fluid.
- Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.
- The writing implement is more potent than the claymore.
- It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.
- Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.
- The temperature of the aqueous content of an unremittingly galled saucepan does not reach 212 degrees Farenheit.
Translations
- twinkle, twinkle, little star
- birds of a feather flock together
- look before you leap
- beauty is only skin deep
- it's no use crying over spilt milk
- cleanliness is next to godliness
- the pen is mightier than the sword
- you can't teach an old dog new tricks
- spare the rod and spoil the child
- a watched pot never boils
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Department of Computer Science
University of California at Davis
Davis, CA 95616-8562
Page last modified on 3/3/98