Stan [to Alexey: In Ilf and Petrov's "The Golden Calf"
the word голова is used idiomatically, in the sense "good brains:"]... it’s
quite a natural and common metonymy...You continue to have a head for diverting
word-plays! I can add that “pouf/poof/pooftah” are discouraged terms for male
homosexuals, but am reluctant to make any connections with Ivan Ilyich’s
after-life orientation! Also, that Ivan spelt backwards is a 19th century Irish
canal digger. Canal points to Lacan, whose mirror-stage resonates with Nabokov’s
fruitful symmetries.
JM: Have a heart...From poof to
Lacan's proof ? That's almost following Nabokov's freudian
steps*.
A. Sklyarenko [ to JM: Summing up, the
letter H in Russian...] As you may know, the Glagolitic alphabet (the
Cyrillic's prototype) was devised by brothers Cyril and Methodius...Cyrillic H
(nash of the old Russian alphabet) actually corresponds to Latin N (which looks
like mirrored И, the Cyrillic counterpart of I), and Cyrillic X (kher), to Latin
H (your wretched "aitch")...
JM: That's the aitch of the question. I
didn't know a thing about the Glagolitic alphabet, but I enjoyed your
explanation and, like Stan acknowledged, your diverting (amusing and
converging) word-plays.
............................................................................
* Step one :an example of a Freudian
interpretation, after one of his hysterics could only
remember one word ("Calais")after a dream and only one association to
it ("Dover"). He told her that she
accused him of being ridiculous in his interpretations
(Calais/Dover... Pas de Calais...Napoléon..."du sublime au ridicule il n'y a
qu'un pas"). Full cycle,
Eh(muet)?