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