even Homer nods en · X
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From even + Homer + nods (“be momentarily inattentive or inaccurate”), alluding to line 359 of Horace’s Ars Poetica indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus (“I become annoyed when the great Homer is being drowsy”). The English translation Homer nods has become standard following Pope (1709), but is due to Dryden (1677).
Meanings
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Even the most vigilant and expert are fallible.
Horace acknowledges that honeſt Homer''' nods ſometimes: He is not equally awake in every Line: […]
1677, John Dryden, “The Authors Apology for Heroique Poetry; and Poetique Licence”, in The State of Innocence, and Fall of Man: An Opera. Written in Heroique Verse, and Dedicated to Her Royal Highness, the Duchess, London: Printed by T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, at the Anchor in the Lower Walk of the New Exchange, →OCLC:He [de Vigneul-Marvin] knows that Homer''' nods sometimes, and that Faults are found in the beſt writers. He is an Author himself, and conſequently may commit an Over-ſight as well as Pindar, Virgil, Horace, and all the moſt celebrated Ancient and Modern Authors.
1713, [Jean] de la Bruyere, N[icholas] Rowe, “Of M. de la Bruyere’s Book, entitul’d, The Characters: Or the Manners of the Present Age”, in The Works of Monsieur De La Bruyere. In Two Volumes. Containing, I. The Moral Characters of Theophrastus. II. The Characters, or, The Manners of the Present Age. III. M. Bruyeres Speech upon His Admission into the French Academy. IV. An Account of the Life and Writings of M. Bruyere. By Monsieur Coste. … Revis’d by the Paris Edition: With an Original Chapter, Of the Manner of Living with Great Men: Written after the Method of M. Bruyere, by N. Rowe, Esq., 6th edition, volume I, London: Printed for E[dmund] Curll, at the Dial and Bible, and J. Pemberton, at the Buck and Sun; both against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet, →OCLC, page 102:Thoſe are but Stratagems which Errors ſeem, / Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream.
1709, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, London: Printed for W. Lewis in Russell-street, Covent-Garden; and sold by W. Taylor at the Ship in Pater-Noster-Row, T. Osborn in Grays-Inn near the Walks, and J. Graves in St. James's-Street, published 1711, →OCLC, page 12:And Homer nods: The Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles played in this year's NFC championship, not NFL championship as we said in a Friday follow-up (since corrected).
2009 April 27, James Taranto, “When Pigs Flu: But … but … Mexico has Socialized Medicine!”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2016:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jove nods | alternative | lexicographic | |
| even Jove nods | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Homer nods | alternative | lexicographic | |
| even Homer sometimes nods | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Homer sometimes nods | alternative | lexicographic |
Translations (26)
nl het beste paard struikelt wel eens (no one is immune to error) · ru и на стару́ху быва́ет прору́ха (no one is immune to error) · fr cela arrive même aux meilleurs (no one is immune to error) · es al mejor panadero se le quema el pan (no one is immune to error) · ko 원숭이도 나무에서 떨어진다 (no one is immune to error) · lt kas nedirba, tas neklysta (no one is immune to error) · fi joskus Homeroskin nukahtaa (no one is immune to error) · fur a fâle ancje il plevan tal altâr (no one is immune to error) · fr il n'y a si bon cheval qui ne bronche (no one is immune to error) · hu néha Homérosz is alszik (no one is immune to error) · pl niekiedy i wielki Homer drzemie (no one is immune to error) · pl i dobry nawet Homer niekiedy zadrzymie (no one is immune to error) · ja 弘法にも筆の誤り (no one is immune to error) · ga ní bhíonn saoi gan locht (no one is immune to error) · ja 河童の川流れ (no one is immune to error) · ru на вся́кого мудреца́ дово́льно простоты́ (no one is immune to error) · fr tout le monde peut se tromper (no one is immune to error) · th สี่ตีนยังรู้พลาด นักปราชญ์ยังรู้พลั้ง (no one is immune to error) · cs i mistr tesař se někdy utne (no one is immune to error) · fi viisaskin menee vipuun (no one is immune to error) · es al mejor cazador se le va la paloma (no one is immune to error) · fr l'erreur est humaine (no one is immune to error) · cmn 智者千慮，必有一失 /智者千虑 (no one is immune to error) · cmn 必有一失 (no one is immune to error) · ja 猿も木から落ちる (no one is immune to error) · es al mejor cazador se le va la liebre (no one is immune to error)