Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0008128, Thu, 17 Jul 2003 12:24:17 -0700

Subject
Fw: NABOKOV & OED: concertinaed analysis a la fourchette ==
Date
Body
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Krimmel" <mary@krimmel.net>
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> Thank you, Tom Bolt, for the citations from OED.
>
> > bong
> > 1960 V. Nabokov Invit. Beheading iv. 43 The merciless bong of
> > the clock.
> >
>
> Seeing this citation utterly without its own context, I am reminded of
>
> "The querulous squawk of the heron ..."
>
> How close the vowel sounds of "bong" and "squawk" (at least the way I hear
> and say them) are!
> And how different to Nabokov's ear!
>
> Incidentally, my 1971 edition of OED has no "bong". There is no word
listed
> between "Bonfire" and "Bongrace" except "Bong, Bongle, obs.form of Bung,
> Bungle, v." in the body of the dictionary, and no word listed between
> "Boneyard" and "Bongo" in the supplement. My 1969 American Heritage
> Dictionary, however, gives "bong" as noun, transitive verb and
intransitive
> verb, pronounced either with o as in "pot" or with o as in "paw, for".
>
> Mary Krimmel
>
>
>