No One on the Corner Have Swagger Like Us

[Emma Tooth]

Hello all,
I'm very glad to have found the forum and hope somebody can help me out. I am a portrait painter (see http://www.emmatooth.co.uk if you're interested!) and I am looking for a translation to appear in one of my paintings.

My phrase, "No one on the corner have swagger like us" is from a contemporary pop song and is riddled with very poor English grammar! So perhaps we need to translate an improved phrase such as "Nobody in the neighbourhood can swagger like we can/do".

"Swagger" is in use again among the youth; not just to describe a drunken gait, but as a statement of coolness; It's a statement of braggadocio, meaning something like "no one else is as cool/attractive/hard/bad as us in our locale"

So, can anybody help with this rather silly phrase?

Thanks so much in advance

Emma

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Re: "No one on the corner have swagger like us"

Wrong forum!

 

[Matthaeus]

Re: "No one on the corner have swagger like us"

Any reason why such silliness needs to be in Latin?

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Re: "No one on the corner have swagger like us"

Some people want their silliness to be disguised in an ancient language, thinking that it is awesome to do. Unfortunately, silliness exists in some popular introductory Latin textbooks, such as the infamous Semper ubi sub ubi, which is found on pg. 41-42 in the most recent edition of Wheelock's Latin, which is among the most popular introductory texts.

Now, let me be back on topic. "Swagger," given that it is a slang that is coined approximately a millennium after the last native speaker of Latin died, it is extremely difficult to translate correctly and have the same context.

 

[scrabulista]

Re: "No one on the corner have swagger like us"

Johnny, you forgot to point out the request is ungrammatical.

 

[Decimvs]

Perhaps "swagger" could be translated as "walk/stride proudly" like Neptune commands Aeolus to do in the Aeneid, to vaunt oneself, to stride forth with pride as Juno does among the gods, something like that?

In the hip hop sense I believe that "swagger" refers to skill in entrepreneurship, ability to make a living in the arts and crafts of street-dealing, hustling, etc. More or less, a talent for the arts of urban money making, lol.

btw, I love that song also. MIA - Paper Planes.

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Re: "No one on the corner have swagger like us"

Johnny, you forgot to point out the request is ungrammatical.

Thank you for reminding me. It is extremely ungrammatical, especially with the term "swagger," which removes all grammatical correctness.

 

[scrabulista]

"Swagger" doesn't bother me. I would have said "No one on the corner has swagger like we do."

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

You got me there! It should be "No one on the corner swaggers like we do," with "swagger" as a verb.

 

[Imber Ranae]

Perhaps "swagger" could be translated as "walk/stride proudly" like Neptune commands Aeolus to do in the Aeneid, to vaunt oneself, to stride forth with pride as Juno does among the gods, something like that?

Do you have a particular passage in mind?

In the hip hop sense I believe that "swagger" refers to skill in entrepreneurship, ability to make a living in the arts and crafts of street-dealing, hustling, etc. More or less, a talent for the arts of urban money making, lol.

Arts of urban money making? Hmm...

Apud angulum nemo lenandi (or lenocinii) arte callidior est quam nos.

...perhaps not appropriate.




ETA:

You got me there! It should be "No one on the corner swaggers like we do," with "swagger" as a verb.

No, John. Stop spamming.

 

[scrabulista]

John, Merriam-Webster dates the use of "swagger" as a noun to 1725, although they date the verb to 1596. I think the noun form makes it a bit more clear that the statement is not to be taken literally.

 

[Iohannes Aurum]

Thank you.

 

[Emma Tooth]

Hi again everyone,
Very pleased to see my request has provoked debate!
...Even though some of you seem not to have read my message BEFORE asking questions!

So has anyone got any ideas on what a proper translation might be?

If anyone is still unclear about how I wish to use this translation I would direct them once again to look at my paintings at www.emmatooth.co.uk/

Thanks again for any help.

Emma

 

[Imber Ranae]

Not really. There's no real Roman cultural equivalent of "swagger". Maybe there's something close enough to be passable, but I'll be damned if I know what it is.

 

[Decimvs]

@ Emma: I like the artwork, very cool.

 

[Emma Tooth]

@ Emma: I like the artwork, very cool.

Thanks very much! : )

 

[Emma Tooth]

Not really. There's no real Roman cultural equivalent of "swagger". Maybe there's something close enough to be passable, but I'll be damned if I know what it is.

I'm ok with using the word "swagger" if there is no Latin equivalent (I guessed there might not be!) . So what could I put in the painting using the word swagger? Prior to coming here I tried using an online auto-translator but as you can imagine, came up with mostly nonsense. The closest I came were things like, "Nemo in vicus est validus ut swagger amo nos"!

That was by translating something like "no one in the street can swagger like we can".

I hope someone can help!
Thanks again.

 

[Decimvs]

I'm ok with using the word "swagger" if there is no Latin equivalent (I guessed there might not be!) .

I think if we try to get a better idea of what the definition of swagger in English is, we may be in a better position to find a Latin equivalent.

Emma, can you give us some idea of what you take the English word swagger to mean?

Earlier in the thread I described it as "skill in entrepreneurship, ability to make a living in the arts and crafts of street-dealing, hustling, etc. More or less, a talent for the arts of urban money making." Does that sound right to you?

I think that that is what MIA had in mind in the song Paper Planes.

 

[Emma Tooth]

Great!
Well, yes , urban money making but also attitude. A hard, untouchable attitude. To be cool, feared, respected. To get "respec'" from one's peers! To be the best at spinning on your head in a dance battle for example, or eluding the police! To have the most - ahem - "ho"s. That sort of thing. Having more gold jewellery that Mr. T. Hahaha this isn't really my area. This is why I'm parodying it in my paintings! It's just bizarre and hilarious to me!

 

[NormalName]

Maybe something like,

"Nemo in via audaciam duriorem habet quam nos."

Which is something like "nobody on the street has tougher/more lasting boldness/courage than we do." with audaciam duriorem being my attempt at swagger.