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Re: Botkin or nikto (b?)
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Can't resist mentioning that the "Nobody" joke has tickled others. William
Hogarth produced a fairly well-known drawing of Nobody. This consisted of a man
furnished only with head, arms and legs.
CHW
In a message dated 29/10/2006 12:40:40 GMT Standard Time,
chaiselongue@EARTHLINK.NET writes:
As for a suggested anagram of "Nikto"(Nobody) in Botkin, I would not dismiss
it without closer consideration because it evokes the story of Odysseus and
Polyphemus, and, hence, the corresponding episode of Ulysses as well as
Innokentii Annensky's pseudonim Nik. T--o. An extra letter "B" is, of course, a
hindrance but the associations are still rather tempting.
Alexander Dolinin
Dear Professor Dolinin,
Please forgive the lateness of my response - - your information on the con
artist Botkin is fascinating - - and your reference to Polyphemus reminds me
that the same joke is made, not in Alice in Wonderland where I was looking for
it, but in "Through the Looking Glass" - - Alice
claims to see nobody coming down the road, eliciting the (red?) King's envy
of her excellent vision. It's too bad Nabokov never translated the second
Alice book.
Is the "B" really a hindrance? Victor Fet pointed out the perfect palindrome
it allows to be formed - - & for which I thank him - - and though perhaps
the spelling drops the vowel, could "nikto b' " not be translated "he would be
nobody"?
Carolyn
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