Stan Kelly-Bootle (Cantab)
writes:"Equally, possibly more plausible: Cantabrigian Boffin. VN was both:
Cambridge University and Brainy Sod!" ( Tom Rymour pointed out the
same link with Cantabrigian and Cambridge)
Jansy Mello: The easiest solution proves to be
the more reasonable one ! In Nabokov's case, it often isn't... It occurred
to me that there's a lesson to be learned from all our former disparate
attempts. How about developing a special tactical move to deal
with VN's dark mysteries? Namely, to identify the simplest, most
obvious answer at first, and next, depart from it towards other hidden
complexities. After all, why did Nabokov use the pen-name Cantaboff to emphasize
his years at Cambridge University: - does it serve any particular
purpose? I can more easily imagine it for Sebastian Knight
(English-Russian).
I've no access right now to Brian Boyd's
autobiographical books (RY and AY) to find out when did VN use
"Cantaboff" and if, then, he might have also played with Cambridge,
Massachussetts*. I favor the hypothesis that many of Nabokov's riddles are
"open-ended."
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wiki: Cantabrigian is an adjective [ ]
derived from Cantabrigia, a medieval Latin name for Cambridge invented on the
basis of the Anglo-Saxon name Cantebrigge. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the name
"Cantabrigia" appears in the city seal and (abbreviated to "Cantab") in the seal
of the Episcopal Divinity School, located therein. A pub in Cambridge,
Massachusetts called the Cantab Lounge is a play on this abbreviation and
perhaps its homophony with the 'can tab' of a beer can [. ]In England, the
nickname "Tab" used by Oxonians (those affiliated with Oxford University) as a
term of derision for those affiliated with Cambridge University, is a
contraction of
Cantabrigian.