Illegitimi non carborundum

I came across this phrase while looking through a book of Latin phrases. Literally translated, it means 'Don't let the bastards grind you down' :-) though I am told that the phrase is really not Latin, but a tongue-in-cheek remark invented by a Brit soldier during WWII.

Whatever the origin, I fell in love with the phrase immediately, and have made it my status message on gmail. Carborundum, as some of us would remember, is another name for SiC a.k.a silicon carbide, which is the stuff that abrasives are made of.

Whenever I am pensive, feeling low or banal, I look at this phrase and perk up immediately. It inspires me to believe and hatch my next plan for world conquest :-) Ha Ha Ha