Subject
Re: Pnin's necktie
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I always understoond "goon" to refer to a gangster, hence Pnin was wearing
the sort of flashy, tasteless neckware favored by underworld fashionistos...
On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 11:00 PM, Don Johnson <chtodel@cox.net> wrote:
> On page 1 of PNIN) we read ”His sloppy socks were of scarlet wool
> with lilac lozenges; his conservative black Oxfords had cost him about as
> much as all the rest of his clothing (flamboyant *goon* *tie* included)
>
> The phrase is in the second paragraph of VN’s PNIN. I trust every
> heavy-weight VN aficionado has pondered the meaning (and significance, if
> any) of
> Pnin’s “flamboyant goon tie.” There is a line of clothing apparel (*Cornell
> Big Red Ties) *for school sports fans that at one time (but apparently
> no longer) included red neckties. Several, if not all, Cornell sports
> teams are called “Big Red” and their uniforms are red.
>
> The term “goon” remains obscure but was apparently a slang term with the
> definition “(*ice hockey, pejorative*) An enforcer or fighter”
> {presumably applied to the team Cornell was playing against).
>
>
> Nabokovian SCHOLARSHIPmarches on!
>
> D. Barton Johnson
>
>
>
> Google Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
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>
> ****All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.
>
--
Sam
Dr. Samuel Schuman
828 258-3621
559 Chunns Cove Rd. Asheville, NC 28805
sschuman@ret.unca.edu
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the sort of flashy, tasteless neckware favored by underworld fashionistos...
On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 11:00 PM, Don Johnson <chtodel@cox.net> wrote:
> On page 1 of PNIN) we read ”His sloppy socks were of scarlet wool
> with lilac lozenges; his conservative black Oxfords had cost him about as
> much as all the rest of his clothing (flamboyant *goon* *tie* included)
>
> The phrase is in the second paragraph of VN’s PNIN. I trust every
> heavy-weight VN aficionado has pondered the meaning (and significance, if
> any) of
> Pnin’s “flamboyant goon tie.” There is a line of clothing apparel (*Cornell
> Big Red Ties) *for school sports fans that at one time (but apparently
> no longer) included red neckties. Several, if not all, Cornell sports
> teams are called “Big Red” and their uniforms are red.
>
> The term “goon” remains obscure but was apparently a slang term with the
> definition “(*ice hockey, pejorative*) An enforcer or fighter”
> {presumably applied to the team Cornell was playing against).
>
>
> Nabokovian SCHOLARSHIPmarches on!
>
> D. Barton Johnson
>
>
>
> Google Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
> the Editors <nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu> Visit "Nabokov
> Online Journal" <http://www.nabokovonline.com/> Visit Zembla<http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm> View
> Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm> Manage
> subscription options <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/> Visit AdaOnline<http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/> View
> NSJ Ada Annotations <http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html> Temporary
> L-Soft Search the archive<https://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?A0=NABOKV-L&X=58B9943B29972AFF64&Y=nabokv-l%40utk.edu>
>
> ****All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.
>
--
Sam
Dr. Samuel Schuman
828 258-3621
559 Chunns Cove Rd. Asheville, NC 28805
sschuman@ret.unca.edu
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/