https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=72768
--- Comment #2 from lh_mouse <lh_mouse at 126 dot com> --- (In reply to Jonathan Wakely from comment #1) > Arguably the object is not completely initialized until the principal > constructor returns. I doubt it. If an exception is thrown inside the principal ctor which delegates to another one, the dtor is called. It doesn't make sense to call a dtor on an object that has not been completely initialized. (A public target ctor and a private one have different semantical purposes, but it is a different story.)