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

[Dan Tilque]

Lois McMaster Bujold wrote:


> Dan Tilque dtilque at nwlink.com
>
>> 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.
>
>
> *** A bilingual pun, but it only secondarily refers to Aral's
> drinking. It mostly refers to Aral's sailing.  Note the
> context of the scene, Aral laying the sails of his small boat
> out on the grass to dry.  Then think about how they got that
> way...

Sails get wet in the normal course of sailing, although the wind
will mostly dry them out at the same time. But the spray leaves a
bit of residue in the sails that makes them stiff and that
residue needs to be washed out periodically. This is especially
the case when sailing on salt water, of course, but applies to
sailing on fresh water as well.

So laying sails out to dry does not imply the boat was capsized.
He could have just washed his sails.

> Although I suppose I really shouldn't have expected the bulk
> of the readership, who likely don't have small boat sailing
> experience, to have gotten that one.  Hm.

I have zero experience sailing boats, but I'm sure of the above
facts.

--
Dan Tilque