(Mental Floss) -- Because you weren't going into botany, the priesthood, or coin manufacturing, you thought you were safe to dismiss Latin as a dead language. Obviously, you didn't graduate cum laude.



I think, therefore I am the famous statue "The Thinker" by French sculptor Auguste Rodin.



Latin is about as dead as Elvis (who, by the way, made $54 million in 2004).



Whether you're deciphering a cryptic state seal or trying to impress your Catholic in-laws, knowing some Latin has its advantages. But the operative word here is "some."



The ability to translate The Aeneid probably isn't going to come in handy anytime soon, so we'll start you off with 9 phrases that have survived the hatchet men of time (in all their pretentious glory).



Caveat Emptor:   (KAV-ee-OT emp-TOR): "Let the buyer beware"



Before money-back guarantees and 20-year warranties, caveat emptor was indispensable advice for the consumer.



These days, it'd be more fitting to have it tattooed on the foreheads of used-car salesmen, infomercial actors, and prostitutes.



For extra credit points, remember that caveat often makes solo appearances at cocktail parties as a fancy term for a warning or caution.



Oh, and just so you know, caveat lector means "let the reader beware."



Persona Non Grata: (puhr-SOH-nah non GRAH-tah): "An unacceptable person"



Remember your old college buddy, the one everybody called Chugger? Now picture him at a debutante ball, and you'll start to get a sense of someone with persona non grata status.



The term is most commonly used in diplomatic circles to indicate that a person is unwelcome due to ideological differences or a breach of trust.



Sometimes, the tag refers to a pariah, a ne'er-do-well, a killjoy, or an interloper, but it's always subjective.



Michael Moore was treated as a persona non grata at the Republican National Convention. Bill O'Reilly would experience the same at Burning Man.



Habeas Corpus: (HAY-bee-as KOR-pus): "You have the body"



When you wake up in the New Orleans Parish Prison after a foggy night at Mardi Gras, remember this one.



In a nutshell, habeas corpus is what separates us from savages. It's the legal principle that guarantees an inmate the right to appear before a judge in court, so it can be determined whether or not that person is being lawfully imprisoned.



It's also one of the cornerstones of the American and British legal systems. Without it, tyrannical and unjust imprisonments would be possible.



In situations where national security is at risk, however, habeas corpus can be suspended.



Cogito Ergo Sum: (CO-gee-toe ER-go SOME): "I think, therefore I am"



When all those spirited mental wrestling matches you have about existentialism start growing old (yeah, right!), you can always put an end to the debate with cogito ergo sum.



René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher, coined the phrase as a means of justifying reality. According to him, nothing in life could be proven except one's thoughts. Well, so he thought, anyway.



E Pluribus Unum: (EE PLUR-uh-buhs OOH-nuhm): "Out of many, one"



Less unique than it sounds, America's original national motto, e pluribus unum, was plagiarized from an ancient recipe for salad dressing.



In the 18th century, haughty intellectuals were fond of this phrase. It was the kind of thing gentlemen's magazines would use to describe their year-end editions.



But the term made its first appearance in Virgil's poem "Moretum" to describe salad dressing. The ingredients, he wrote, would surrender their individual aesthetic when mixed with others to form one unique, homogenous, harmonious, and tasty concoction.



As a slogan, it
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"An unacceptable person" 9 9 "An unacceptable person"
question: what does it mean to be a persona non grata?, answer: "An unacceptable person" | question: What number of Latin phrases are commonly used today?, answer: 9 | question: how many Latin phrases commonly used today, answer: 9 | question: what does Persona non grata mean, answer: "An unacceptable person"