It's all Greek to me
"I don't understand it at all"
The expression is well known from
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: in discussion among
the conspirators Casca is asked if Cicero has said
anything and replies, 'Ay ... but for mine own part it
was Greek to me' (II, 2 lines 277-84). However, it may
have existed earlier: ''Tis Greek to me' is found in
Robert Greene's play James IV of 1598. In fact, the
expression is older than both: it comes from a Medieval Latin proverb 'Graecum est; non potest legi' (It is Greek; it cannot be read). Incidentally, the Spanish
version of this proverb is 'hablar en griego', which is commonly thought to be the origin of gringo, so someone who is called a gringo is literally speaking Greek and is thus being unintelligible.
(http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsi.htm)
This semester has been a tough one so far. As you may have guessed by the opening article I am taking a Greek this semester. So far I've spent more time studying for this class than I can remember studying for any other class I've ever taken. And I, along with most of the class, still feel lost. I described it to a friend this way...
I feel like I am the kid that missed the bus in the morning. So I'm running behind the bus trying to catch up. I'm using every ounce of energy and speed I have to try and catch the bus. Instead all I get is a face full of exhaust. The harder I try the faster the bus goes. There I am, covered from head to toe in exhaust wondering how in the world am I going to ever catch up?
I now know first hand what the phrase "It's all Greek to me" really means. I just don't understand it (Greek) at all...
- Dennis
