What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch!

Alexander Pushkin.

"What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch!" (Russian: ай да Пушкин, ай да сукин сын!, Ay-da Pushkin, ay-da sukin syn!; sometimes separated by exclamation mark instead of comma) is a catchphrase and winged word from Alexander Pushkin's correspondence with one of his friends, poet Pyotr Vyazemsky. The phrase commonly expresses a joy after finishing one's work and appears particularly in several Russian literary works.

In a letter dated circa November 7[1] or beginning of October,[2] 1825 Pushkin, celebrating his finished drama Boris Godunov wrote to Vyazemsky:

"I greet you, my joy, with a romantic tragedy, in which the first person is Boris Godunov! My tragedy is done; I reread it aloud, alone, and clapped my hands and shouted: What a Pushkin, what a son of a bitch!"[1]

That was preceded by what Pushkin wrote to Vyazemsky on July 13 of the same year:

"My joy, for the time being I've undertook such a literary feat, for which you'll shower me with kisses: a romantic tragedy! Look out, keep silent: few people know that"[3]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Вадим Серов. Энциклопедический словарь крылатых слов и выражений (in Russian). Bibliotekar.ru. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  2. ↑ Разговоры Пушкина. Moscow: Федерация. 1929. ISBN 5-250-01701-0.
  3. ↑ Лариса Сорина. Все смуты похожи одна на другую (in Russian). Тверские Ведомости. Retrieved 2008-04-26.

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See also

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