Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tutela Valui: Ashley Alexandra Dupre's Tattoo
Spitzer's hooker girlfriend, "Kristen" now revealed to be Ashley Alexandra Dupre, has a belly tattoo that reads "tutela valui", a Latin phrase which has been translated to mean "fair value" by the NY Post. But the tattoo may have even more relevance for the Emperor's Club VIP escort.
Contradicting the Post's translation, the WSJ Law Blog and Yahoo Answers both say that "tutela valui" might refer in an oblique way to "safe sex." Here's the full explanation:
valui = 1st person singular, perfect indicative active of "valere" (to be healthy/well/strong)
tutela = nominative or ablative singular of "tutela" (guardianship or protector, as context dictates)
Thus, if tutela is indeed ablative, the sentence could be tranlated:
"I have been well thanks to/because of/by means of my protector."
Remember that when Ashley was asked by Spitzer to do things that might not be "safe", she replied, "I have a way of dealing with that..I'd be like listen dude, you really want the sex?...You know what I mean."
We know what you mean now.
