1265- Who is an ‘ultracrepidarian’?

(pronounced ‘ul-tra-krep-i-DARE-ien’)

An ultracrepidarian is someone who is in the habit of giving advice on matters he himself knows nothing about — like a politician!

This Latin word literally means ‘beyond the shoe’.
The story goes that when the Greek painter Apellis displayed his beautiful painting of Alexander the Great, a shoemaker pointed out that the sandals in the painting did not have the required number of loops. The artist thanked him, and immediately set about making the required changes. Once they had been carried out, the emboldened shoemaker began to comment on other aspects of the painting — the shape of Alexander's legs, his robes, etc.

Apellis put an end to it by saying, “Sutor, ne ultra crepidam”, meaning “shoemaker, not above the sandal”. The wise painter was trying to tell the shoemaker that he should limit his comments to his area of expertise — shoes — and avoid passing judgment on things he knows nothing about.
 
William Hazlitt, the well-known essayist, coined the word ‘ultracrepidarin’ in 1819.
 
(Know your English, The Hindu, 03:09:2013)

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