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☽ - Gately in St. Elizabeth's Trauma Wing

Page 809

vacuole
used here generically to mean a hole

subsonic
i.e., noiseless

Page 810

circadian rhythm
Have a look at this chart.

Eldred
This was the last name of the first Eagle Scout, Arthur Rose Eldred (1895-1951).

Dewar's
a brand name of whiskey

President's Physical Fitness Test
You can read about this program here.

A flat cap or skallycap

skallycap
see example at right

Chock Full O'Nuts
a brand name of coffee

Page 811

P.E.
Physical Education, i.e., gym class

dugout
where the teams during a baseball game sit while not actually playing

Franklin W. Dixon
811; name used for high-interest account of Ewell's Money-Stealers' Club; the pseudonym of the author of the Hardy Boys series of juvenile detective novels

Page 812

bear-market
a downward-moving stock market (characterized by more selling than buying)

Advent
the month-long period before Christmas

Page 813

aide-de-camp
assistant to a general or other high-ranking officer

Belfast
the capital of Northern Ireland

speculum party
a pelvic examination?

I.B.E.W.
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union (for which Wallace supplies endnote 339 on page 815)

Page 814

cubed
multiplied by itself twice; taken to the third power

fracas
a noisy disturbance or quarrel

Endnote 337

V.i.9
The line is "It must be 'se offendendo;' it cannot be else." The reference is to Ophelia, who killed herself. Notably, Act V, scene i of Hamlet is where Yorick is mentioned.

Page 814 (cont'd)

perfidy
treachery

Gately's Humorous ball and Scalpula socket
referring to the humerus (without any o at all) (largest bone of the arm, between the shoulder and elbow) and the ball and socket joint of the shoulder, the blade of which is called the scapula (with but one ell), but the scapula forms only part of the socket

IM
intramuscular

Page 815

toxemia
[mass noun] blood poisoning by toxins from a local bacterial infection. (also toxaemia)

Ninth Step
The ninth of the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is, "Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Weld
William Floyd Weld (born 1945) was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. Even the prescient Wallace could probably not have predicted Mitt Romney, who held the post from 2003 to 2007.

Alsace
a region of France bordering the Rhine border with Germany

impost
a tax or duty imposed on some one

Endnote 338

Doryx
a brand name of doxycycline hyclate, here intravenous.

Page 816

Dr. Dentons
a trade name of children's blanket sleeper (pajamas); Gately's are XXL, extra extra large

imago
psychological term for an idealized image, usually of a parent, formed in childhood and continuing into adulthood subconsciously

Page 817

catheterized
Gately has had a Foley catheter inserted.

Page 818

objay dart
Gately's version of objet d'art (French: art object)

Endnote 341

acetaminophen
the generic name of the pain-reliever Tylenol

Page 819

codeine
an opiate used as a painkiler; a habit-forming, Schedule III narcotic

shiners
black eyes

Oreida
Or "Ore-Ida", maker of potato products and originator of Tater Tots; Thrust may be thinking "iota" at the same time

Page 820

turnipcut
i.e., tourniquet

medecins
médecins mal épelé; misspelt French: doctors (physicians)

solenoid
a current-carrying coil of wire

Page 821

fishtailing
having the back end of one's car spinning

Page 822

secloistered
malaprop, ‘’sequestered: isolate or hide away (someone or something)

GQ
Gentlemen's Quarterly

embryoglio
malaprop, imbroglio: an extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation

fleen
malaprop, Thrust's past tense of flee (à la "flown")

Page 823

ballast
heavy material placed on the bottom of ships to provide balance and stability

prosfeces
i.e., prostheses

freakas
fracas

Page 824

P.C. warrant
(possibly) Probable Cause warrant

Wellfleet Circuit Court
Wellfleet is a town on Cape Cod about 10 miles south of Provincetown.

Met State
Metropolitan State Hospital; a defunct public mental health facility in Waltham, MA. It was operating during Wallace's stay at nearby McLean Hospital but closed before Infinite Jest's publication.

Cuerva
Thrust means "Cuervo," a brand of tequila.

Page 825

batorial ammonia
malaprop, bacterial pneumonia

Nightmare on Elm Street XXII: The Senescence
a joke concerning the horror films of Wes Craven. Senescence is the process of growing old

to take a brody
More correctly, brodie, refers to [1]Steve Brodie, who survived a leap from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1886

embryoglio
malaprop, imbroglio: an extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation

Page 826

prolix
tediously long or wordy

señorio
malaprop, scenario

Page 827