ponycholka

Another time, we were talking about a famous grandmaster. «You know, G. [Genna], Koblenz knew him well from before the war, and he called him a bad word. I can't tell you what it was, because Nadezhda Andreevna [Smyslov’s wife]  is standing right next to me.» «What kind of word is it, V.V. [Vasilily Vasilievitch]? Tell me in a whisper...» «No, I can't. Even in a whisper, I can't...» «Well, at least tell me the first letter, and I'll figure it out.» «You're so persistent!" Well, I'll tell you: it starts with the letter 'd' ... » «With the letter 'd'? There are no swear words in Russian that start with the letter 'd'. Was it “durak”?» «No, not “durak”. If it was “durak”, I would have said it… » «I can't imagine, I must have left Russia a long time ago. Was it “dolbaeb”?» «Ew, G., what words! No, Alexander Naftalievich called him something else!» To this day, I still don't know what word Koblenz used to refer to grandmaster N