Pages 934-964
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Contents
Gately and Fackelmann continued
Page 934
Page 935
recursive
capable of being used repeatedly
retsin
the supposed active ingredient in Certs breath mints
Ciao Bello
Italian: Goodbye, Handsome
Page 936
corrode
to eat away at; to rust
ICBM
intercontinental ballistic missile
boot
junkie slang for injecting drugs
Page 937
imprimatur
sanction or approval
bonded
Sorkin had put up Gately's bail.
ruddled
reddened
serration
notches in the edges
Page 938
belled
rang like a bell
Joelle Talks About the Entertainment
Page 938
Page 939
epicene
androgynous
bassinet
an oblong basket for a baby
catadioptric
produced by reflection and refraction simultaneously
Page 940
astigmatic
failing to have light rays converge on a single point
Page 941
Hal Narrates (Still)
Page 941
slight tremble of something hanging from the tip of a pipette
A pipette is a type of thin glass tube used in chemistry, and the something trembling would be a drop of some liquid, I suspect...
Thtithe fickn meth
Coyle is probably trying to say, "Stice fucking mess."
Page 942
panic-attack
another term for an anxiety attack
Page 943
Page 944
rank amateurs
complete/total amateurs
pernicious
harmful
Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (1898-1956) was a German playwright, poet, and director.
Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania
a suburb of Philadelphia, about twenty miles west
DeNiro
Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. (born 1943), is an Academy Award winning American actor, cast by Scorsese in Mean Streets and several times thereafter.
McLachlin
a misspelling of Kyle MacLachlan (born 1959), an American actor whose second film was Blue Velvet
Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born 1946) is an American filmmaker.
Allen to Allen
a reference to American director Woody Allen (born 1935 as Allen Stewart Königsberg), who casts himself in most of his films
temporal-lobe
the part of the brain involved in hearing, speeech, and vision
Page 945
familiar foil packet
i.e., a condom
ascot
a neck scarf
long white FDR-style filter
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. He often used a cigarette holder as seen in the photo on the right.
canopied
framed with curtains
boudoir
a bedroom or private sitting room
ponce
an effeminate man
"...an old-fashioned one-sharp-sided razor..."
Page 946
Pheromonic Musk
a scent designed to emit pheromones, or a chemical that attracts the opposite sex
chartreuse
bright yellowish-green
500 seconds
8 minutes and 20 seconds
Page 947
conundra
insoluble questions
sinkhole
a depressed area into which waste collects
pratfall
a fall on one's rear
Page 948
two-meter
about 6.56 feet
Nor'easter
a type of storm common to the Northeast U.S.
snorkels
tubes for breathing
pugnacious
having a tendency to fistfight
Page 949
snifter
a glass with a wide bottom that narrows at the top, for drinking brandy
twidgeling
not a real word
Hancock tower
a skyscraper in Boston
mimesis
the imitation of aspects in the sensible world
Page 950
sinciput
the upper part of the skull
convolutions
folds on the surface of the brain
filigree
intricate ornamentation usually consisting of twisted metal wire/ribbons on, say, a fence
Lindisfarne Gospels
an Old English text of the Gospels found in England
hyperfertilized
given too much fertilizer
finial
an architectural device used to top a gable
defile
a narrow passage
neutered
castrated
topiary
a sculptured shrub or bush
gambrel
the hock of an animal, particularly a horse
Page 951
framed print of Lang directing Metropolis
See photo.
etagere
a stand with a series of open shelves
delfts
type of earthenware
claret
red wine
Page 952
Hagia Sophia and S. Simeon
Hagia Sophia is a mosque in Istanbul that had been a Byzantine basilica. S. Simeon refers to the ruins of a monastery named for Simeon Stylites.
Qal'at Si'man
Arabic for "Saint Simeon"
Levirates
men required to marry their brothers' widows
maniera greca
a style of Italian painting ("Greek style") popular in the early Renaissance
half a meter
about 1.64 feet
hyperemic
an unusual amount of blood in part of the body
seraglio
the living quarters of a Turkish harem
fieldstone
a type of construction material
Page 953
varicotic
having varicose veins
onyx
a deep black form of quartz
kyphotic
having abnormal curvature of the spine
Page 954
climacteric
A period of decrease in reproductive capacity; in women, menopause.
Infantilist
While the term can mean a type of paraphilia in which one dresses up like a baby, here Hal more likely means a pediatrician that treats patients like babies.
koans
in Zen Buddhism, statements that defy rational explanation upon which to meditate
Page 955
misnomer
a misapplied name or designation
The Green Door
The full title is Behind the Green Door.
Deep Throat
a pornographic film starring Linda Lovelace
jism
slang for semen
interrogatives
questions
Page 956
Page 957
expatriates
people living outside their countries of origin
Faulknerian
recollecting the style or manner of William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897-1962), American novelist
aspirating
inhaling
After the Interview
Page 958
She
i.e., Joelle
Hi, Mikey
Page 958
Page 959
the hook
presumably, the sister's hand
boatayouse
i.e., "both of you"
Page 960
a hundred m.'s
a little over 328 feet
The Assistant District Attorney
Page 960
easement
a convenience
Suffolk County
the county in Massachusetts where Boston is
McDonald's House
a reference to Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides housing for the parents of children undergoing intensive medical care
Page 961
Tooty
apparently the ADA's wife
Fourth- and Eighth-Step
"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves" and "Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all," respectively
Page 962
weal
welfare
peroxide
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), used as a bleach and whitener
Page 963
Page 964
NoCoat LinguaScraper
Fictional product mentioned on Page 151.