August 27, 1996

honi soit qui mal y pense

In an old (turn of the century) dictionary that belonged to my dad there was what he thought to be the longest word in the dictionary. I'm not sure of the spelling, but it sounded something like "hahn.ee.sot.kee.mall.ee.penz." Ever heard of it?

Sure, and your representation isn't too bad. The phrase you're thinking of--it's not a single word--is Honi soit qui mal y pense, which is the motto of the Order of the Garter. It's French for 'shamed be the person who thinks evil of it'. Supposedly, in the fourteenth century, Edward III was dancing with the Countess of Salisbury, and her garter fell off. In response to the snickers of those watching, Edward said "Honi soit qui mal y pense," and tied the garter around his own leg. The phrase then became the motto of the order, which Edward founded.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is the oldest and most important of the orders of knighthood in Great Britain. Its head is the sovereign, and the garter (inscribed with the motto) thus appears on the royal arms of Great Britain. As a result, the phrase is sometimes erroneously described as "the motto of Great Britain" or something similar.

The true pronunciation, which I can't represent very well in this medium, would be something like "on ee swa kee mal ee pahnz."