nodum in scirpo quaerere

Latin

Etymology

Literally, “to seek a knot in a bulrush”

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈno.dum in ˈskir.po ˈkʷae̯.re.re/, [ˈnɔd̪ʊ̃ˑ ɪn ˈs̠kɪrpɔ ˈkʷäe̯rɛrɛ]

(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈno.dum in ˈʃir.po ˈkwe.re.re/, [ˈnɔːd̪um in ˈʃirpo ˈkwɛːrere]

Phrase

nodum in scirpo quaerere

to find a difficulty where there is none;[1] to find trouble where there is none [2]
- "In scirpo nodum quaeris." Plautus, Menaechmi, Act 2, Scene 1, line 22 [3]

See also

English needle in a haystack

References

“scirpus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“scirpus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Plaut. Men. 2,1,22 in T. Maccius Plautus. Plauti Comoediae. F. Leo. Berlin. Weidmann. 1895.

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