Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EX PEDE HERCULEM

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pronounce EX PEDE HERCULEM: Say it "ex PED uh HAIR coo lem." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Let's recall some words about feet! The kind with toes, or the kind with twelve inches. Here we go: 1. Things that have or use unnecessarily long words--words that seem to be a foot and a half long--are s_____ped___an. 2. Things that slow you down or make it hard for you to move forward, as if getting all tangled up in your feet, are i_ped_____a. 3. To try to back up and fix a mistake, change what you said, or entirely take back what you said, as if your feet are pumping away backwards on a bicycle, is to b___ped__. And to make a wild guess based on a mere scrap of information, as if you're calculating Hercules's height from the length of his foot, is to guess ex pede Herculem. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: "Ex pede Herculem" is Latin for "Hercules from his foot." In a text called Noctes Atticae (Attic Nights), the Roman author Aulus Gellius claimed that Pythagoras once determined the length of Hercules's foot, and then used that to calculate (or guess) Hercules's height. Correctly, we're told. But Hercules was fictional, so...¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Depending on your point of view, Pythagoras's method was pretty smart, or pretty stupid.  So, if you say "ex pede Herculem," you mean "Hercules is measured from his foot," or less literally, "Using some small detail, someone made a guess or an assumption about something much larger, either wisely or foolishly." grammatical bits: Part of speech: It's a noun phrase. You can use it as a noun: "It's clearly a case of ex pede Herculem." Or, use it as a comment. You might tack it onto a sentence with a comma: "It was a good guess, ex pede Herculem." Or, let it stand as its own sentence: "It was a good guess. Ex pede Herculem." Other forms:  If you need a less snooty-sounding version, you could just use English: "Hercules from his foot." how to use it: I have to laugh when I consider actually dropping this term into conversation. It's too fancy, scholarly, and rare for that. Impractical as it may be for everyday use, this term is still worth knowing: it's fascinating, and it's extremely specific. So if the context seems right, you might talk or write about some comment, prediction, assumption, or theory being a case of ex pede Herculem. You might mean it as a compliment or a criticism, since giant inferences might be either brilliant or idiotic. I would say that the phrase tends to come off as positive, more likely to be a compliment. Here's what Plutarch had to say about it: "The philosopher Pythagoras reasoned sagaciously and acutely in determining and measuring the hero's superiority in size and stature." So if you spot a sagacious, acute inference, you might pounce on it: "Ah ha! Ex pede Herculem!" Notice how you capitalize the H in Herculem, and how you put the whole phrase in italics to show that it's foreign: ex pede Herculem. Other Latin phrases, like "ad infinitum," appear so often in English that we stop italicizing them. That'll probably never happen with "ex pede Herculem." Just a wild guess. examples: "[Professor Meister] lives his existence to the full, enjoying and giving enjoyment... the reader... may glean some knowledge of Professor Meister's character: ex pede Herculem."    — William Delisle Hay, Three Hundred Years Hence, 1881 (anthologized in British Future Fiction)  "The impression one would receive from Mr. Knight's note...is, that Shakespeare had his notion of the shoes from our old poets, while the learned had theirs from ex pede Herculem; but where the analogy lies, wherein the point, or what the application, is not explained."    — Ron Chernow, Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-Communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, Etc, 1853 has this page helped you understand "ex pede Herculem"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "ex pede Herculem" without saying "the whole from a part" or "the lion by his claw." try it out: In response to an online op-ed, one reader posted this: "So if I follow correctly: Capet is part of 'The Left' and since Capet is a twit, 'The Left' in general is composed of twits, ex pede Herculem." Stand back, he's angry and he's armed with obscure Latin terms! It's a pretty good burn, though. Use it as a template to make your own: "So if I follow correctly, since (some small detail is true), (some huge, dumb conclusion is also true), ex pede Herculem." If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for February is "Piece It Together." Use your knowledge of the given terms to define a related, ultra-rare term. For example, you could use your knowledge of CELLULAR and MULTUM IN PARVO ("a lot in a little") to define the ultra-rare PARVOCELLULAR as "small-celled." To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy! Try this one today:  Use GRAVITAS and VIVA VOCE to define VOIX GRAVE. review this word: 1. A near opposite of an EX PEDE HERCULEM is A. a welcome ABATEMENT (reduction or easing off). B. a modest INFERENCE (conclusion based on evidence). C. an obvious INTERPOLATION (extra piece added in later). 2. When you think of the phrase "ex pede Herculem," you might think of _____ saying "_____" or "_____" A. Buffy Summers .. You're dust .. I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots. B. Sherlock Holmes .. Elementary, my dear Watson .. There are certainly one or two indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several deductions. C. Indiana Jones .. Don't call me Junior! .. You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: VOIX GRAVE means "deep voice." a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.