Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0010709, Mon, 6 Dec 2004 11:12:50 -0800

Subject
Fwd: Re: Query: patio rhyme
Date
Body
----- Forwarded message from chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu -----
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 11:11:00 -0800
>
Subject: Re: Query: patio rhyme
To: "[Tomasz Cyba]" <tcyba@PRAST.PL>

Quoting "[Tomasz Cyba]" <tcyba@PRAST.PL>:
> In Chapter 41 of ADA, just after Ada and Van 'got hold of a wrong lover',
> Van talks about their 'tiffs' and says:
> "Or that time she had hesitated, blinking, shaping a soundless word,
> suspecting him of a sudden revolt against her odd prudishness of speech,
> when he challenged her brusquely to find a rhyme to ‘patio’ and she was
> not quite sure if he had in mind a certain foul word and if so what was
> its correct pronunciation."
>
> Any idea what that 'foul word' might be?
>
> Thanks,
> Tomasz
-------------------------------------------------------
EDNOTE. Patio/Fellatio (<Lat. fellare "suck"): Lucettes's pronunciation
problem
is not unique. According to my American Heritage Dictionary, the only correct
pronouncation is "fuh-LAY-sheeo" but one commonly hears "fuh-LAT-io". I see
Merriam-Webster III condones "feLAHDio."The Polish translation will be
challenging. (Tomasz is the Polish translator working on ADA.) I see that
Sergey Il'in simply lets "patio" stand.

----- End forwarded message -----