Laugh now, cry later

A

Anonymous

Guest

im wanting to get a new tattoo and i need "laugh now, cry later" translated.

any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks.
 

SaepePecca

New Member

I'll take a stab at it. You should get a second and third opinion before tatooing anything I say onto your body though.

The problem I had is that the English is highly contracted. I wasn't sure if you intended the meaning as "(You) Laugh now! Cry later!," or "If you laugh now, you will cry later," whether as a wise observation or a command, etc... all of which affects the Latin.

Assuming you intend it as an upbeat message along the lines of "Don't worry! Deal with it later!" then I'd translate "laugh now, cry later" as "Nunc ride, posterius lacrima."

There are flavors of laughter and sadness in Latin as in English - giggle, guffaw, chuckle ... cry, wail, mourn... you get the idea. I chose "ride" and "lacrima" as general words for laugh/cry. Maybe that will give you somewhere to start.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest

Laugh Now Cry Later

Hi ,

i'll be greatfull if you could translate to Latin the phrase :
Laugh Now Cry Later

thanks
 

Imber Ranae

Ranunculus Iracundus

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Grand Rapids, Michigan
This is a little bit hard to translate because the English is so vague. Do you mean this as a direct command to someone, or as a general piece of advice? And is it addressed to anyone in particular, or self-reflective?

"Laugh now, cry later!" (a direct command) would be "Ride modo, fle posterius!"

"May you laugh now, [and] cry later," (a mild command or exhortation) would be "Rideas modo, fleas posterius."

"Let them laugh now, [and] cry later," would be "Rideant modo, fleant posterius."

"Let us laugh now, [and] cry later," would be "Rideamus modo, fleamus posterius."
 

Dariel

New Member

Back-translation: Subride Nuc, Lachrima Postea

Hello!

Could some one please help me and translate the following sentence.

"Subride Nuc, Lachrima Postea"

Thank you

//Dariel Lopez
 

Cato

Consularis

  • Consularis

Location:
Chicago, IL
Re: Help me please!

Dariel dixit:
"Subride Nuc, Lachrima Postea"
I'm guessing that second word is really nunc and the h in lachrima is a medieval spelling for lacrima. If so, the phrase means "Laugh now, cry afterwards".
 

Dariel

New Member

Re: Help me please!

Cato dixit:
Dariel dixit:
"Subride Nuc, Lachrima Postea"
I'm guessing that second word is really nunc and the h in lachrima is a medieval spelling for lacrima. If so, the phrase means "Laugh now, cry afterwards".
Okay thnx!
But what is then the correct way of writing "Smile Now, Cry Later" in Latin? With all the gramatics and so...?

Thnx again
 

QMF

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Virginia, US
Laugh and smile are pretty much the same word in Latin, though subride is more likely to mean smile than its counterpart ride.
 

Dariel

New Member

QMF dixit:
Laugh and smile are pretty much the same word in Latin, though subride is more likely to mean smile than its counterpart ride.
Hmm... okay
so could you pls write the right way of "Smile Now, Cry Later" for me then. Im kind of slow headed right now. Got a little confused with the other part in the other post with the gramatic thing.

Cato dixit:
I'm guessing that second word is really nunc and the h in lachrima is a medieval spelling for lacrima. If so, the phrase means "Laugh now, cry afterwards".
The reason why i really need it to bee 100% accurant is becasue i want this as a tatto...

... thnx again
 

QMF

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Virginia, US
subride nunc, lacrima postea

I'd translate that as smile now, cry later. So that should be what you're going for.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest

Hi. I'm new here, but I love the Latin language. I'm trying to translate a common English phrase, "Laugh Now, Cry Later." Help would be greatly appreciated. :D

Don C.
 

Iohannes Aurum

Technicus Auxiliarius

  • Technicus Auxiliarius

Location:
Torontum, Ontario, Canada
Re: Translation Help

Here goes (but note that I am a novice):
Nunc ride, postea lacrima

Please wait for others to reply first
 

Chamaeleo

New Member

Location:
Melbourne
Re: Translation Help

Iohannes Aurum dixit:
Nunc ride, postea lacrima
That looks about right. The last word, however, is usually a noun meaning ‘tear’. The verb is more commonly ‘fleō, flēre’.

Perhaps ‘Rīde nunc; flē posteā/posthāc’.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest

Re: Translation Help

Thanks so much for your help. I've been reading a little bit in the forums, this place is really neat!
 

Akela

sum

  • Princeps Senatus

Location:
BC
Merged all the "Laugh now cry later" threads.
 

scrabulista

Consul

  • Consul

Location:
Tennessee
Quid rides? Mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur. - Horace.
What do you laugh at? Change the name, the story is told about you.
 

Imber Ranae

Ranunculus Iracundus

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Grand Rapids, Michigan
scrabblehack dixit:
Quid rides? Mutato nomine, de te fabula narratur. - Horace.
What do you laugh at? Change the name, the story is told about you.
Not sure what this has to do with the thread exactly, but a great quote nonetheless!
 

scrabulista

Consul

  • Consul

Location:
Tennessee
Oh sorry...I meant to explain that. A few years ago some coworkers and I conducted an intra-office pool regarding the NHL playoffs. No money changed hands -- it was just for fun. After the first round, I compiled the results -- gave one of my colleagues a hard time. My own luck changed in the 2nd round, and I was trailing the pack. I put the Horace quotation at the top of my report, and acknowledged that everything I said about my colleague could be said of me.
 
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