Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#163521 11/15/06 03:56 AM
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Hydra Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Near the end of the film, as the Wizard of Oz is about to launch his balloon to take Dorothy back to Kansas, he says this:

Quote:

I, your Wizard par ardua ad alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere.




What does the Latin mean?

#163522 11/15/06 04:04 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
prolly should be, per ardua ad alta.

through hard work, to the heights (to the stars should be ad astra)

#163523 11/15/06 10:25 AM
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Hydra Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
The quote was taken from a free on-line script archive. Caveat lector!

Anyway, thanks for the translation. Per ardua ad alta. Seem so obvious, now that I know what it means.

#163524 11/15/06 10:55 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Hydra, could you post the link to that archive? I'd love to look through it.

#163525 11/15/06 11:59 AM
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Hydra Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Sure.

The Wizard of Oz script I found at The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb)

But Drew's Script-O-Rama is also good.

#163526 11/15/06 04:08 PM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
M
addict
Offline
addict
M
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
This is possibly an intentional "mangling" of the Kansas state motto "Ad astra per aspera" to further illustrate his "humbug-osity" since he is claims to be "an old Kansas man myself...born and bred in the heart of the western wilderness".

#163527 11/15/06 04:11 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
If you google, the phrase "per ardua ad alta", you'll see it's a variant on the RAF motto, per ardua ad astra, and, supposedly, the family motto of the Hanna family.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 676 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5