re Evan S Barnable
The Urth list — 4 messages, 4 voices, 26 Jun 2000
https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/2292

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Allan Lloyd — 26 Jun 2000, 20:18

I've just been re-reading Little Big (prompted by the discussion on this
group) and by some wierd coincidence, just reached the page in Letters
to Santa where Smoky reveals his real name.
  Some-one asked what the S stands for. Does no-one get the joke?

  Evan S. = evanesce = disappearing from sight, fading, or maybe
ghost-like or even Smoky

          Allan

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Michael Andre-Driussi — 26 Jun 2000, 14:45
  follows, by subject match Allan Lloyd

> Allan wrote:
> I've just been re-reading Little Big (prompted by the discussion on this
> group) and by some wierd coincidence, just reached the page in Letters
> to Santa where Smoky reveals his real name.
>  Some-one asked what the S stands for. Does no-one get the joke?
> 
>  Evan S. = evanesce = disappearing from sight, fading, or maybe
> ghost-like or even Smoky

Yowie!  Looks right to me . . . and since "Evan S." = "Smoky" (and it was
probably the too-clever relatives who cooked up "Smoky" directly from "Evan
S.") then it would be redundant for S itself to equal "Smoky."  Meaning
that the S remains another hidden name, another one of those tough little
easter eggs without any real answer, core, yoke, or candy picture inside:
John Crowley often hides these in his fictions.

=mantis=

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William Ansley — 26 Jun 2000, 22:05
  follows, by subject match Michael Andre-Driussi

> I've just been re-reading Little Big (prompted by the discussion on this
> group) and by some wierd coincidence, just reached the page in Letters
> to Santa where Smoky reveals his real name.
>   Some-one asked what the S stands for. Does no-one get the joke?
> 
>   Evan S. = evanesce = disappearing from sight, fading, or maybe
> ghost-like or even Smoky
> 
>           Allan

Kudos, Allen!

I re-read _Little, Big_ recently and quite carefully too, I might 
add, but I missed this completely. An excellent catch.

And it nicely explains why Crowley reveals Smoky's real first name 
(however briefly) while keeping mum about what his middle initial 
stands for. I was wondering about that! Thank you.

William Ansley

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Alex David Groce — 27 Jun 2000, 08:18
  follows, by subject match William Ansley

William Ansley said (congratulating Allen):

> And it nicely explains why Crowley reveals Smoky's real first name
> (however briefly) while keeping mum about what his middle initial
> stands for. I was wondering about that! Thank you. 

In fact, it seems more than just plausible that Smoky's middle initial
doesn't stand for anything--remember that he wears "A Suit of
Truman's" to be married in and that the 'S' in Harry S. Truman is
without further signification.  I think that's the solution to
the middle initial mystery.

  --
  "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
  --
  Alex David Groce (agroce+ at cs.cmu.edu)
  Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University - Computer Science Department
  8112 Wean Hall (412)-268-3066
  http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~agroce

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