# Go comb a monkey



## Vanalli

Hello everyone!

The title of this question is serious (well, kind of).

This is a funny way of saying "stop bugging me" here in Brazil and I would like to have that in Latin on a T-Shirt I'm designing.

Would anyone be kind to help me? I've been trying to translate it myself but I can't even find monkey in the dictionary.

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Kevin Beach

There is no way that the phrase can be translated in such a way that it would ever have been understood by anybody who spoke Latin, because the concept behind it is modern.  That said:

Monkey is _simia_.

To comb is _(de)pectere_.

Go in the first person singular imperative is _I_

So you could say *I simiam depectens* or *I ut simiam depecteas*.


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## Vanalli

No problem, I understand the whole concept issue.

But that's ok, it is supposed to be only a joke and part of the joke is someone coming to me to ask what the hell this phrase means...

Thanks a lot!


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## brian

I think it might sound more natural to say in Latin "Go and comb," and maybe (though I'm not sure) _pecto _without the _de-_ prefix (cognate with the Greek πεκτέω) is more common. So:

_I et siniam pecte._ (singular imperative)
_Ite et siniam pectete._ (plural imperative)

It's ambiguous in English, but not in Portuguese: _Vai_ (sing.) _pentear macaco_, right? So then you'd want _i_ and _pecte_.

The main doubt I have is whether or not you can "comb" a person or animal in Latin. The examples I saw on Perseus all had _crines_ ("hair"). So I wonder if the translation might have to be:

_I et crines siniae pecte. _(Lit. "Go and comb [the hair of] a monkey.")


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## Fred_C

brian8733 said:


> I think it might sound more natural to say in Latin "Go and comb,"



No.
The most natural way is to use the supine.
"Abi simiam pexum" or "abi simiam pectitum".


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## Stoicorum_simia

As a Simia myself, I feel I should have an opinion.
I agree with Fred C about the use of the supine - the most idiomatic way to say go and do anything. But I'm not sure how common _pexum _or _pectitum_ is. Maybe just 'simiam pecte'? The idea of motion doesn't seem to be all that strong in the English phrase - don't know how it sounds in Portuguese.
But the other thing is brian8733's point about combing people or animals - when _pectere_ is used like this, it seems to mean to beat up. To comb someone, you comb their hair. So 'simiae capillos pecte'? or 'simiae lanam pecte'? (_coma_ and _crines_ both sound too human).


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## Cagey

How about gerundive/ gerund:
_ abi ad viilos simiae pectandos.

abi ad pectandum villos simiae. _​  I think _villus, -i _is the word you want (in the plural)  for an animal's hair. 

Of course, I would defer to the opinion of an actual Simia. It's only polite.


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## Fred_C

Hi,
I insist in using the supine.
The choice that exists in English between "go comb" and "go and comb" does not exist in any romance language, neither does it in Latin.
You can use "abi comptum" if you prefer the supine of "comere".

Besides, the scope is not to come up with the most natural sentence. The scope is to provide a sentence that fits on a tee-shirt.
A tee-shirt is just the modern version of an ancient carved stone. You must find a _short and expressive_ sentence.


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## Stoicorum_simia

Cagey said:


> I think _villus, -i _is the word you want (in the plural) for an animal's hair.
> 
> Of course, I would defer to the opinion of an actual Simia. It's only polite.


 
Yes, _villi_ sound(s) perfect. Thank you! A little more self-knowledge acquired ...


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