[LMB] 2 questions, one Vorkosigan, one list-related

[John Campbell Rees]

On Sat, 2007-05-05 at 00:22 -0700, Dan Tilque wrote:
> nikohl laurel wrote:
> 
> > 1. Are Vorkosigan Surleau and Vorkosigan Sousleau two distinct
> > places? somewhere in Cordelia's Honor, I'm pretty sure there's
> > talk of the villagers wanting to rename a place "Vorkosigan
> > Sousleau" in Aral's honor. But afterwards, I see a lot of
> > references to Surleau. Did the villagers change their minds,
> > or are their two geographically distinct locations, named in
> > reference to their position relative to the lake?
> 
> The name Vorkosigan Sousleau is a joke, a bilingual pun. Made by
> Count Vortala.
> 
> First note that Surleau is French for "on the water". Well,
> actually the French would be spelled "sur l'eau", but the
> spelling of the village name has obviously been modified a bit
> over the centuries. Going by the same spelling mod, Sousleau
> means "under the water". The pun comes from equating French
> 'sous' with English 'souse'. The "Aral's honor" part is a
> reference to his drinking, of course.
> 
> --
> Dan Tilque
> 
I always assumed that it refered to the fact that Aral was regularly
drunk since the end of the war.  Completely pickled in alcohol, soused
like a herring, hence Vorkosigan Sousleau.