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An Unpleasant Discovery

Page 916

entrepôt
a place where stolen goods are stored and sold from

frustum
This is "the part of a conical solid left after cutting off a top portion with a plane parallel to the base" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary).

More of Gately's Past

Page 916

proclavity
Gately means "proclivity"

Page 917

fuchsia
hot pink

boot-knife
defined here

highatus
i.e., hiatus

Page 918

VO
a type of whiskey by Seagram's, the VO standing for "very own"

32 mb²
this would, presumably, be 1024 megabytes, or a little over 1 gigabyte

Page 919

LISLE
a fine, hard-twisted cotton thread used for hose, gloves, etc.

EMBRASURE
an opening in a thick wall for a window

lissome
agile; nimble

Page 920

CIRCUMAMBIENT
surrounding; encompassing

head
toilet; bathroom

Pressburger
Until the city was renamed Bratislava (currently the capital of Slovakia), a person from that Pressburg was called a Pressburger.

Page 921

Something-with-six-syllables-that-started-with-Sterno
possibilities: "Sternocleidomastoid," a muscle in the neck, or "Sternoclavicular," a joint where the clavicle, part of the sternum, and the cartilage of the first rib meet

16 mm. siphuncular
0.63 inches; siphuncular basically means "tubular"

4 ml.
The proper abbreviation for milliliters is mL.

Endnote 373

viscid
sticky; adhesive

inspissated
thickened by evaporation to become more dense

Page 921 (cont.)

edema
swelling due to excess fluid

discreditated
Presumably he means "discredited."

Morbid Trauma Quarterly
not a real publication

hemoptysis
coughing up blood

pertussive
accompanied by coughing

Page 922

30 kg
about 66.14 lbs

bupkis
Yiddish for "absolutely nothing"

embrasure
an opening in a thick wall, mentioned earlier

woodie
erection

myopic
near-sighted

Turner
possibly a reference to Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), a British painter

innerdicted
i.e., interdicted

Page 923

post-mortem
Latin: after death

stucco
Read about it here.

Page 924

Night-Errand
i.e., knight-errant

papoose
While the word technically means "baby," Gately's usage is probably closer to that explained here.

Page 925

W. T. Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) was an American army general, responsible for burning Atlanta during the U.S. Civil War.

dipsoid
alcoholic

Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (born 1925), was Prime Minister of the U.K. from 1979 to 1990.

cherry
a term for a virgin

simper
to smile self-consciously

highball
a family of mixed drinks

Page 926

Carry Nation
Carrie A. Nation (1846-1911) was an American proponent of prohibition of alcohol.

exoskeletally
in a way so that it is outside the skeleton

Zegna
a clothing company founded by Ermenegildo Zegna

MILKEN
Michael Robert Milken (born 1946) is a former stockbroker who served several years in prison for securities fraud.

Beamer
a BMW

almometer
i.e., Alma Mater

Page 927

septuagenarian
in ones seventies

tiger's eyes
a type of gemstone

doublets
tight-fitting jackets

Plasma spheres
another name for a plasma lamp

howitzer
a short type of cannon

Green-Cardless
not having permanent resident status and, thus, an illegal alien

moll
the girlfriend of a criminal

bagmen
people who collect payments in organized crime

wpm
words per minute

shillelagh
an Irish hand weapon

Old Sod
an term for the "old country" among U.S. immigrants

Page 928

Bulldog
mascot of Yale University

proprioception
See wikipedia

VLR
visitor's locker room

pyrotechnic
like fireworks

Bruins
mascot of Brown University, though they actually just call themselves the "Bears"

Page 929

Phalanx
a close-knit group of people

filigreed
finely and elaborately ornamented work, usually made out of wire

N.O.W.
National Organization of Women

power forward
the one of the two forwards in basketball who more often will drive to the net

ursine
pertaining to bears

ersatz
an inferior substitute

assassination
Obviously President Limbaugh was assassinated in the recent past.

Page 930

obsequity
excessive compliance

Gaelic
i.e., the Irish language

C-notes
hundred dollar bills

375 sky-blue grams
about 13.23 ounces

Page 931

Endnote 376

$660.00/g
about $18,000 an ounce

Y.W.-Q.M.D.

Page 931 (cont'd)

adulterant
an impurity

fillip
to smack one's finger against by pressing the finger against the thumb and releasing

gigantism
excessive growth

smack
slang term for heroin

Page 932

beeline
a direct route traveled quickly

craven
cowardly

gloaming
dusk

Page 933

entr'actes
the periods between dramatic performances

Page 934

"...digging some dead gy's head up..."
See Hamlet, Act V, Scene i.

"...asks if they knew him..."
"Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio..." (Hamlet).

While Leaving St. Elizabeth's...

Page 934

"...a grotesquely huge woman whose hose bulged..."
It's Steeply.