Difference between revisions of "Pages 418-442"
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'''Cerberus'''<br /> | '''Cerberus'''<br /> | ||
− | + | In Greek mythology, this the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus three-headed dog] that guards the entrance to Hades. President Gentle is mixing his mythological metaphors here: Cerberus's three heads were not horned, as was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur Minotaur], with its bull's head on the body of a man. | |
'''Achilles' tendon'''<br /> | '''Achilles' tendon'''<br /> | ||
− | + | A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles%27_tendon tendon] in the back of the leg, near the foot. But Achilles was mortally wounded by Paris's poisoned arrow, not by a thorn, which figures prominently in Aesop's tale of [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0156.html Androcles and the Lion]. | |
==Page 442== | ==Page 442== |
Revision as of 15:10, 9 August 2012
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Contents
April 30th/May 1st, YDAU - Marathe & Steeply on the A.F.R.'s motives
Page 418
Page 419
capricious
subject to acting on a whim
Caillou Bay
You can see a map of southern Louisiana here.
Cajun
a French-speaking people dwelling in the woods of Louisiana, having emigrated there from French Canada two hundred years ago
Taurus PT9
You can see this pistol here.
unsafetied
The gun's safety is off.
longshoremen
Dock workers who load and unload ships.
caricaturesque
pertaining to a depiction of someone that exaggerates certain facial or bodily characteristics
Page 420
subsumption
the act of placing something under a more comprehensive category
rôle
This is how we used to spell "role" in English and how it's still spelled in French.
Edmonton
the capital of Alberta
Page 421
malice
desire to do harm
Page 422
vacuous
lacking in ideas or intelligence
Shining Path
Maoist guerrilla group in Peru (Wikipedia)
Maxwell House
a brand of coffee
M. Kemp
as in Monsieur Kemp, i.e., Jack Kemp, implying he was assassinated with a bomb in his house
Very Large Satan
or "Great Satan," if you will
Page 423
utilitaire
utilitarian, i.e., providing the greatest good for the greatest number
Comme on dit
French: Like they say
burning some k. down
what is k.??
Page 424
sacrosanct
inviolable
chasm
a gorge or deep cleft in the earth's surface
Page 425
Habitant soupe aux pois
Habitant is Québecois French for "farmer," though it seems like a brand name here. Soupe aux pois is pea soup, very popular in Québec. Habitant is in fact a Canadian brand of soup made by the Campbell Company of Canada.
parodically
in a sarcastic or mocking way
Page 426
Safeway
a chain of supermarkets
burrs
protruding, ragged edges
Page 427
ami
French: friend
un autre
an other, i.e., an outsider
pursuivre le bonheur
French: pursuit of happiness
supine
on one's back
Page 428
ponderous
awkward or unwieldy
Endnote 173
Endnote 304
Notes and Errata - Endnote 304
Page 428 (cont'd)
Veuillez Recycler Ce Contenant
French: Please Recycle This Container
en ce moment
French: at this moment
Page 429
D'éclaisant
not a real French word
"éclairer" is French for enlighten, so we can assume this is intended to mean enlightenment.
mafficking
boisterous celebration
Page 430
Entre nous
French: Between us
The Rest of the Eric Clipperton Story
Page 430
Page 431
slider
in tennis, a slider is a sliced serve with side spin. Refer here.
Forest Lawn NNY
a town in New York state, on Lake Ontario
cuirass
a piece of armor covering the heart
PowerBook
an IBM brand of laptop computer
vig
interest, as on a loan from a loan shark
Page 432
codicil
a legal supplement or appendix
CPR
Cardiopulonary resuscitation
Winchester
a city in Massachusetts about 8.5 miles northwest of Boston
counsel
purpose, plan, or design;
advice or guidance
whey
the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained
Page 433
miasma
a noxious atmosphere
cordite
a propellant used in place of gunpowder in firearms
Crawfordsville, Indiana
a town about 45 miles northwest of Indianapolis
Veedersburg IN
this town lies 22 miles west of Crawfordsville on Route 74
brandykinetic
with slowed movements due to neurologic dysfunction
Page 434
vicissitude
a change or variation in the course of something;
or a hardship due to chance
votaried
filled with devotion
Gately's Other Job
Page 434
Jamaica Plain
a section of Boston
cab of his 4 X 4
A 4 X 4 is a pick-up truck and the cab is where people sit.
sub-table
under the table, i.e., off the books so that taxes don't have to be paid
yutzes
plural of the Yiddish word "yutz" meaning fool (See Wikipedia)
Page 435
colostomy
a procedure by which feces exit the body via a hole in a person's side into a bag, rather than via the anus
Kaposi's Sarcoma
a type of viral cancer that causes skin lesions
suppurating
oozing pus
D.T.s
shaking frenzy, from the Latin delirium tremens
sperm
actually, undoubtedly, semen with its attendant sperm
spermy
see previous note
B&E
Breaking and Entry, i.e., burglary
finski
slang: $5 bill
Kools
a brand of menthol cigarettes
Page 436
mobilely upward
that is to say, upwardly mobile
witticism
a funny remark
More O.N.A.N.T.A. History
Page 436
Davis
a city in California about 15 miles west of Sacramento
Quik
a powder mix used to make chocolate milk
Page 437
NaCN
sodium cyanide
rivet
a type of pin or bolt; DFW is likely playing off the phrase "dead as a doornail" here
acrostics
Dr. Rusk might be composing acrostic poems, in which the first letters of each line, read sequentially, spell a word or phrase or create a mnemonic device, but it's more likely that she's solving acrostic puzzles, in which the letters comprising a quotation (typically 180-225) are scrambled into a set of clued entries (most commonly 22-26), the first letters of which spell out the name of the author of the quotation and the work in which it appears.
dewimpled
like defrocked, except for a nun
Page 438
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V (1741-1801) was an American general during the Revolutionary War who turned traitor for the British.
ACROMEGALIC
suffering from acromegaly, a chronic disease characterized by enlarged bones of the extremities, face, and jaw, caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland
Endnote 176
Minister of Environment and Resource-Development Enterprises
The initials spell merde, which is French for "shit."
Candida albicans
a fungus associated with yeast infections in humans
macrocartographic
immense and involved with maps
Page 438 (cont'd)
Sino-temporal-endorsement
Chinese-style-time-sponsorship; a reference to China's use of animal signs to date the years (Year of the Dog, Pig, Rat, etc.); the obvious inspiration or model for Subsidized Time.
orts
scraps of food
CONCORD
the capital of New Hampshire
CLEMSON
a university in South Carolina
Rantoul IL
a town 125 miles south-southwest of Chicago
Ithaca NY
a town in upstate New York, home to Cornell University
Page 439
camp
deliberately artificial or vulgar -- sometimes referring specifically to gay humor
robber-baron
Wikipedia defines robber-barons as "businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various allegedly anti-competitive or unfair business practices."
Ollster
a nickname for Oliver, like "Ollie"
"...one slim cat with an outsized leg..."
i.e., Orin Incandenza
Page 440
placative
intending to pacify or calm
quadrennial
occurring every four years
pulchritudinous
good-looking
chapeau
hat
Page 441
cheri
French: my dear
"look into my eyes: no new enhancements"
similar to George Bush saying "Read my lips: no new taxes" during his election campaign (See Wikipedia)
Cerberus
In Greek mythology, this the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades. President Gentle is mixing his mythological metaphors here: Cerberus's three heads were not horned, as was Minotaur, with its bull's head on the body of a man.
Achilles' tendon
A tendon in the back of the leg, near the foot. But Achilles was mortally wounded by Paris's poisoned arrow, not by a thorn, which figures prominently in Aesop's tale of Androcles and the Lion.
Page 442
canter
an easy gallop
Ixnayish
Remove -ish, and you have Pig Latin for "nix."
H.U.D.
Housing and Urban Development