variations, in clubs

[John Dunn]

>Helena Goscilo wrote:
>+++++++
>The standard contemporary form for clubs is TREFY (NOT trefi, for the last
>letter resembles the Nautilus workout grunt, not "ee" as in "eek").  The
>alternate form, attested by Dal' (see TOLKOVYI SLOVAR') is KRESTY (again,
>hard "y" sound, and stressed).   An even rarer and outmoded alternate form
>is ZHLUDI.  Requiescat in pace, ladno?
>++++++++
>No, definitely no peace - until we know something about how the usage
>varies (as hinted at by an earlier seelangovka). Age? Geography? Sex?
>'Class'? Education?
>
>Tom Priestly

On the Moscow-Volgograd train in May 1974 clubs were kresty and spades were
viny (also in Dal').
Geography: inhabitants of Volgograd (long-standing, if not native)
Age: 20-40
Sex: both
Class, Education: Can't remember, but probably mixed
Incidentally, they also endowed valet with a fleeting 'e' (valet, val'ta),
but although we were all sober at the time, they never succeeded in making
the rules of durak comprehensible.

John Dunn

John Dunn
Department of Slavonic Languages
Hetherington Building
University of Glasgow
Glasgow
G12 8RS
Great Britain

Telephone (+44) 141 330-5591
Fax       (+44) 141 330-5593
e-mail    J.Dunn at slavonic.arts.gla.ac.uk