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Honorificabilitudinitatibus
I
marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not
so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier
swallowed than a flap-dragon. Honorificabilitudinitatibus (Latin for "the state of being able to achieve honors") has been in use since at least the 12th century, fascinating word-smiths like Shakespeare. Bacon also toyed with it - his doodlings are recorded among his papers at the British Library. In 1910, Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence "deciphered" this monster of a word as an anagram, rearranging its letters to make: hi ludi, F. Baconis nati, tuiti orbi (Latin for "these plays, F. Bacon's offspring, are preserved for the world") Stratfordians have answered with several rearrangements of their own, including: Abi inivit F. Bacon histrio ludit (Latin
for "Be off, F. Bacon, the actor has entered and is playing.")
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