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Baron von Lay-Down-His-Head
the Baron
also: Барон фон Горой-его-положь
An invented German nobleman whose entire surname is a slapstick imperative, the comedy resting on the collision of a formal title with a nonsense name.
Reading notes
- To P. Ye. and Ye. Ya. Chekhov, 20 June 1878. Taganrog. §8 Baron von Lay-Down-His-Head
An invented German nobleman whose entire "surname" is a slapstick command (literally "lay down his head"), the joke resting on stacking a serious title over a nonsense name.