...
He is an aristocrat in folio.
~Proverb, (Dutch)~
I found this at
Wiktionary:
LatinPronunciation(Classical) IPA: /ˈfo.li.um/
Noun folium (genitive foliī); n, second declension
1.a leaf
2.a sheet or leaf of paper
3.(figuratively) trifle, thing of no consequence
In Latin, "
in" is a Latin prepostion whose object is in either the accusative and ablative case; for
folium both cases are
folio. "
In" can take on several meanings, including:
With ablative: affected by; engaged in, involved in.
With accusative:
(indicating person to whom feelings are directed) towards, to, for; about, respecting; for, with a view to.
(The Bantam New College Latin & English Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged, John C. Traupman, Ph.D., St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Copyright (C) 1966, 1995 by Bantam Books.)
So, if "in folio" is a Latin phrase, perhaps he could be:
"... an aristocrat engaged in something of no consequence"
or
"... an aristocrat to whom you own no feelings of any consequence"
or
"... an aristocrat of no consequence" (someone unimportant).
A Bing
search pulled up 20 pages of Dutch proverbs (almost 1000). Here's a sampling from page 7 (I'm partial to the ton of knowledge and the leaden dagger):
Great cry and little wool, quoth the devil, when he sheared his hogs.
Great cry and little wool.
Great fishes break the net.
Great fools must have great bells.
Great gaps may be filled with small stones.
Great promisers, bad paymasters.
Great talkers are little doers.
Great weights may hang on small wires.
Guessing is missing.
Half a word to the wise is enough.
Hares are not caught with drums.
Hasty questions require slow answers.
Hasty speed don't oft succeed.
He burns the candle at both ends.
He buys honey dear who has to lick it off thorns.
He cannot lay eggs, but he can cackle.
He counts his chickens before they are hatched.
He covers me with his wings, and bites me with his bill.
He earns a farthing and has a penn'orth of thirst.
He fell with his nose in the butter.
He gapes like a clown at a fair.
He has a ton of knowledge, but the bottom is out.
He has a wolf-conscience.
He has him under his thumb.
He has lost the nest-egg.
He has seen the wolf.
He has the Bible on his lips, but not in his heart.
He howls with the wolves, and bleats with the sheep.
He invites future injuries who rewards past ones.
He is an aristocrat in folio.
He is an essence of scoundrels.
He is as easily caught as a hare with drums.
He is as good a Catholic as Duke Alva's dog; who ate flesh in Lent.
He is as good a divine as Judas was an apostle.
He is as poor as Job.
He is as sharp as a leaden dagger.
He is as welcome as the first day in Lent. (Alluding to fastday.)
He is noble who performs noble deeds.
He is nobody's enemy but his own.
I also like this one from page 20 for some reason:
Young fools think that the old are dotards, but the old have forgotten more than the young fools know.