Durum caseum per magnos canibus

The JC’s guide to pithy Latin adages Go Premium OK I know that’s only a little dog BUT LOOK A THE LITTLE GUY HE’S SO CUTE Latin Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Requests? Insults? We’d love to 📧 hear from you. Sign up for our newsletter.

“Durum caseum per magnos canibus” (lit., “hard cheese for big dogs”), known colloquially as the doctrine of durum caseum, is a principle of equity developed as a corollary to anus matronae parvae malas leges faciunt. Just as little old ladies make bad law, so, equally do big dogs.

Only, where the law turns cartwheels to help that sweet and fragrant matron out of a bind it takes quite a different disposition to those it deems capable of looking out for themselves. If you happen, say, to be a global universal financial conglomerate, expect some hard cheese should your old friend Professor Coque-Hup of the South Neasden Association Football Union come to visit.

See also

• Citigroup v Brigade Capital Management
• The whole stupid banker cases genre