Pages 306-321
- Editors: Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel. And please pay attention to formatting and grammar. Preview your changes before saving them. Thanks!
Contents
☽ November 7th, YDAU - Courses Taught at ETA
Page 306
Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
candent
glowing with heat
Orion
one of the more famous constellations in the night sky
Lay
non-professional
Anthracite
a type of coal
Page 307
crop-and-epaulette
crop being a riding crop, this would suggest a certain militaristic disposition
Winter Park FL
a city in Florida about five miles north-northeast of Orlando
grange
shorthand for the Granger movement, here used in the generic sense of organizing, as of labor
Endnote 105
Dworkinite
The word refers to Andrea Dworkin (1946-2005), an American radical lesbian feminist
Pizzitola
probably a reference to the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, R.I.
Page 308
eustacian-crumbling
The Eustachian tube connects the inner ear to the throat; this compound adjective would mean "deafeningly loud."
fin
a slang term for a $5 bill
SPN
Shared Processing Network
joe
coffee
Ulcerative colitis
a form of inflammatory bowel disease (Wikipedia)
Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
Page 309
Vivian, Utah
a city about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City
Hempstead, Long Island
a town in New York about 25 miles into Long Island, about halfway between the North and South shores
Sonora, Mexico
a state of northern Mexico, bordering Arizona
Junebug
a genus of beetles found, among elsewhere, in the Eastern U.S.
moonballed
Here used as a past-tense verb, a moonball is a very high lob.
détente
a relaxation of tensions
Frontenac
probably a reference to the Battle of Fort Frontenac during the French and Indian Wars, where the British defeated the French
Canadianism
presumably this is a political movement of some kind, probably based on separation from the U.S.
rub
obstacle or impediment
real-French
as opposed to Québecois French
Pléaide Classics
better known as Bibliothèque de la Pléaide
glottal
involving the epiglottis in pronunication
Page 310
thorax
chest
prenatal dentition
growth of teeth before birth
Cartier and Roberval and Cap Rouge and Champlain
Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) was a French explorer who first mapped the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and who coined the name "Canada." Jean-François de la Roque de Roberval (1500-1560) was a French pirate and first lieutenant general of New France (i.e., French Canada, i.e., Québec). Cap-Rouge is a section of present-day Québec City, where Cartier tried to place his first French settlement. Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635) was the French founder of Québec City
Ursuline nuns
the Order of St. Ursula, the members of which teach young girls
wimples
the head coverings that nuns wear
U.N. Day
October 24
wig-and-jerkin
A jerkin is a close-fitting men's jacket. With the wig, this is the costume of the early Modern warrior.
Amherst
Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (1717-1797), was a British field marshal and veteran of the French and Indian Wars. Town in Massachusetts named after him also gave its name to Wallace's alma mater. The story of Lord Jeffery Amherst discussing coating blankets with smallpox and distributing them to Native Americans is well-known at Amherst College.
Hurons
More properly called the Wyandot or Wendat, these are an indigenous people of North America originally inhabiting Québec before the French arrived.
variola
the Latin word for "smallpox"
SACPOP
Strike Against Civilian Population
toadstool
a poisonous mushroom
Steinkamp
German: stone enclosure
Saluki
a breed of dog
ROM
Read-Only Memory
Levesque-Parti-and-Bloc Québecois and Fronte de la Libération Nationale
René Lévesque (1922-1987) was a Québecois government minister and founder of the Parti Québécois. Bloc Québécois promotes sovereignty for Québec while the Parti promotes independence. The Fronte mentioned above is probably a misnomer or early form of the FLQ.
convolved
wound together
Page 311
Page 311 (cont'd)
U.S. Interstate 87
It runs from Champlain, NY, on the Canadian border, to the Bronx.
empiricist
describing drivers orienting themselves by experience, rather than paying close attention
Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad
diabolic
devilishly evil
Page 312
benzodioxane
a metabolite of benzodiazepines
Mario's birth, early development
Page 312
pica
abnormal appetite
Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch painter.
Toronto's Skydome
Now known as Rogers Centre, this is the home field of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Page 313
contractured
having shortened muscle tissue
Green Valley AZ
a city in Arizona about 22.5 miles due south of Tucson
saguaro
a type of cactus
bradyauxetic
slow in cell development
Endnote 115
Volkmann
Richard von Volkmann (1830-1889) was a prominent German surgeon who described Volkmann's contracture in 1881. (Wikipedia)
gerontologic
having to do with the study of old age
lentissimo
a musical term that is Italian for "very, very slowly"
Page 313 (cont'd)
inebriate
as a noun, a drunkard
Page 314
blepharoplasty
surgical reshaping of the eyelid
corticate
having an outer layer
mucronate
having abruptly projecting points
nonprehensile
unable to grab
yarmulke
the Yiddish word for the skullcap that observant Jewish men wear
Stanford-Binet
a type of IQ test
bradyphrenic
slow witted
more like refracted
Refraction occurs when light slows down when it enters a new medium. The change of speed also causes a change in direction of travel. Although light travels at a constant speed in a vacuum, it travels more slowly in matter.
joint of beef
a piece of beef of a good size for roasting
Page 315
NNYC
New New York City
.7-meter
about 2.3 feet
Marino lamps
shorthand for a San Marino floor lamp
Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
codicil
an addition to a legal will
Endnote 116
hyperfloriated
overdecorated with floral designs
Page 315 (cont'd)
juvenilia
art created by a child or teenager
attenuates
lessens
Page 316
à clef
French for "by key," the term is usually given as roman à clef, i.e., a novel for which one needs a key to understand.
canted
sloped at an angle
saurian
lizard-like (especially, here, with respect to the skin)
homodontic
having teeth of all one type (see endnote 119; in Mario's case, all his teeth are bicuspids, the two-pronged sort normally found between the canines and the molars)
tangrams
a type of Chinese puzzle
Page 317
Year of Dairy Products From the American Heartland
April 30th/May 1st, YDAU - Marathe & Steeply Again
Page 317
Page 318
l'aine des Etats Unis
French: the ass of the United States
Page 319
redemised
"Demise" is a legal term meaning to convey or lease land. Redemised title would normally refer to an interest returned to the original owner, as in a sale and lease-back, but may here just refer to a second transfer of title, or regifting as we say at Christmas time.
Sans-Christe
French: Without Christ
Un ennemi commun
French: a common enemy
Page 320
L'état protecteur
French: the protector-state
lume nacreous
pearly light
Page 321