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October 6, 2014
The Secret History Of The Michelin Man
Posted by gerardvanderleun at October 6, 2014 5:44 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
Your Say
Translation:
"Now, let us drink!"
TO YOUR HEALTH
In other words...
Michelin Tires
DRINK [ROAD] OBSTACLES!
This is a clever pun in French. It's like saying, "this tire eats potholes alive!" -- but, since this is the French talking here, the metaphor of drinking is used. The basic idea is that Michelin tires are so tough you can drive on even the worst French roads without fear for your safety; the tires "drink up" road hazards "to your health".
In Latin, bibendum means "to drink"; nunc est bibendum means, roughly, "now's the time to drink!" or, colloquially, "Bottoms up!" -- a most appropriate motto for a company with a product that goes on the bottom of the car. (The Michelin Man's name is "Bibendum", by the way). The phrase itself is taken from Horace's Odes -- Book I, #37 "Cleopatra":
Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero
pulsanda tellus, nunc Saliaribus
ornare puluinar deorum
tempus erat dapibus, sodales.
That's some CLASSICAL EDVCATION right there, boy!
Posted by: B Lewis ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://americandigest.org/sidelines/nav-commenters.gif)
at October 6, 2014 12:54 PM
B Lewis, good post. Now I know more about the Michelin Man than I ever knew there was to know.
Next stop: Hathaway shirts and the eye patch.
Posted by: chasmatic at October 7, 2014 6:15 AM