ARS GRATIA ARTIS

Recently, on  Jeopardy! the Final Jeopardy category was "mottos" and the answer was that Louis B. Mayer and Oscar Wilde had the same four-word motto.

I screamed, in delight, "ARS GRATIA ARTIS!" because I was certain that was the answer after having seen the phrase emblazoned above the roaring lion since I could remember.

Les, who is the self-appointed scorekeeper, "gonged" me and said, "WRONG--it asked for a FOUR-WORD motto."

I whined, "But I KNOW that it means ART FOR ART'S SAKE!"

He replied, "Too bad, smarty-pants show-off, it asked for FOUR-words and that has THREE words, so you lose!"

None of the contestants had the correct response.

Les, triumphant in declaring my answer as incorrect, said, "SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI."  I said, "Wow!  I'm impressed."    He laughed and said, "That's the only Latin I know;  I don't even know what it means.  Didn't they say that when Lincoln died?"