Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0001541, Tue, 10 Dec 1996 15:48:36 -0800

Subject
Re: PNIN query: a la fourchette (fwd)
Date
Body

At 11:09 12/10/96 -0800, you wrote:
>A query to Russian-speaking readers of the forum:
>
>In "Pnin", our hero gives his party "a la fourchette" (sp?). In the
>recent Library of America edition, Boyd's notes say (quote from memory):
>"'with a fork', i.e. more than just finger food".
>
>I did not know the French meaning, but in my experience with its usage in
>Russian, it meant "buffet-style", as opposed to "sit-down dinner".
>
>Can anyone confirm or controvert that?
>
>Vitaly Kupisk,
>Berkeley, CA
>
-------------------------------------------------------
Sergei Il'in response:

Yes, Yor are right. In Russia "a la fourchette" means cold collations or
light hors d'oeuvres - id est without hot dishes.
Best,
Sergey
Sergey B. Il'in
<isb@glas.apc.org>
Moscow

Nashe delo veseloe.