Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0008027, Sat, 5 Jul 2003 09:14:26 -0700

Subject
Nabokov anagrams
Date
Body
Borrowed from PYNCHON-L

On Thu, 3 Jul 2003, pynchon-l-digest wrote:
> From: "Jasper Fidget" <jasper@hatguild.org>
>
> Given VN's penchant for anagrams, this tool might prove useful:
>
> http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html

Is that based on a Wordsmith College server?

> Some interesting results on the obvious ones:
>
> Pale Fire: LEAF PIER, FEAR PILE, RAPE LIFE, A LIFE PER, APE LIFER, APE
> FLIER, APE RIFLE, REAP LIFE, PA LIFE RE

The title is an allusion, not an anagram.

> Kinbote: BE I KNOT, BE KIN TO, BIKE NOT, BOT KINE, BON KITE, NOB KITE

These are important.

> Shade: HEADS, HADES, SAD HE

Shade's name means what it says.

> Gradus: A DRUGS, DRAG US, GUARDS, SAD RUG, AS DRUG

Other ways to play with Gradus's name will show themselves as we read....

> Maud: DUMA, A MUD

The Russian parliament (?!)

> Aunt Maud: A DUMA NUT, A DATUM UN

Sounds like something from her message in the barn.

> Hazel: Hazel
>
> Zembla: No anagrams found.
>
> I include the last two because I like the poetry of there being only one
> possible combination for Hazel, and there being no possible combination for
> Zembla.

Ah, but if you take the Scrabble score for "ZEMBLA" (10+1+3+3+1+1) and
run it through a formula developed by Blavdo V. Namirik, it translates out
to "A DISTANT NORTHEN LAND."

Cheers,
Kevin T.

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