nodum in scirpo quaerere
Latin
Etymology
Literally, “to seek a knot in a bulrush”
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈno.dum in ˈskir.po ˈkʷae̯.re.re/, [ˈnɔd̪ʊ̃ˑ ɪn ˈs̠kɪrpɔ ˈkʷäe̯rɛrɛ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈno.dum in ˈʃir.po ˈkwe.re.re/, [ˈnɔːd̪um in ˈʃirpo ˈkwɛːrere]
Phrase
nodum in scirpo quaerere
- to find a difficulty where there is none;[1] to find trouble where there is none [2]
- "In scirpo nodum quaeris." Plautus, Menaechmi, Act 2, Scene 1, line 22 [3]
See also
- English needle in a haystack
References
- “scirpus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “scirpus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Plaut. Men. 2,1,22 in T. Maccius Plautus. Plauti Comoediae. F. Leo. Berlin. Weidmann. 1895.