Pages 531-562

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!

531 · Gately and Joelle

Page 531

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

boilermakers
shots of whiskey chased with beer

keep
i.e., the barkeep

Page 532

Cumberland
Given that Joelle is from Kentucky, this is probably a reference to the Cumberland Mountains

O.D.
overdose

Page 533

metronome
a time-keeping device for musicians, typically a pendulum-like machine that clicks to provide meter

Page 534

Page 535

gregarious
sociable

Page 536

Page 537

Page 538

slavering
drooling

538* · Randy Lenz: Rats, Cats, and Dogs

Page 538

12-gauge blast
as from as 12-gauge shotgun

Page 539

E.M.I.T.
enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique

Page 540

Endnote 224

EZC
i.e., "easy see"

NAL
New American Library

Ticknor, Fields
Ticknor and Fields was a publishing house eventually bought by Houghton Mifflin in 1880.

Y.T.M.P.

Page 540 (cont'd)

W-E
west-east

Stegosaurus
a type of dinosaur

Page 541

verminal
tending to breed vermin

cabbaging
stealing

brisance
the shattering effect of an explosive

Page 542

panoply
a wide-ranging array of things

A Program of Attraction
AA refers to itself as this, meaning that it doesn't need to advertise.

EST and Greenwich Mean
Eastern Standard Time and Greenwich Mean Time, the latter of which is determined at the Prime Meridian, or 0º longitude

DOW
probably the Dow Jones Industrial Average

NIKEI
a reference to the Nikkei 225 index of the Japanese stock market

Page 543

winsome
charming

diverticulitis
inflammation of the pouches of the colon

gone rye
i.e., gone awry

Principles of Psychology and the Gifford Lectures on Natural Philosophy
"William James’s Gifford Lectures of 1901–1902 have been heralded by some as the greatest lectures ever to be presented in the series and perhaps the most seminal of his works (alongside The Principles of Psychology). Published initially in 1902, The Varieties of Religions Experience: A Study in Human Nature has stood the test of time and been republished thirty-six times."

20-gram
About .70 ounces, this is a lot of cocaine.

bonerfied
bona fide

Page 544

Year of the Maytag Quietmaster

ten-kilo
about 22 lbs

Page 545

phosphenes
light sensations in the eyes when light is physically absent

apnea
the tendency of mainly overweight people to stop breathing intermittently in their sleep

Page 546

R. Lauren
Ralph Lauren

Page 547

tattlemount
tantamount

Page 548

548 · Rodney Tine and the Samizdat

Page 548

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

District
the District of Columbia

Endnote 228

O.N.R.
perhaps the Office of Naval Research

ambit
sphere of operation or influence

Page 548 (cont'd)

twidgelling
not a real word

NCA
probably Northern California

Code-Five
code for "stakeout in progress"

New Iberia LA
a city about 50 miles southwest of Baton Rouge

pithed
having had a needle stuck into the base of the skull

U.S.O.
Undercover Special Operations

P.E.T.s
positron emission tomography, a kind of medical imaging technique

574 · Orin Realizes Something

553 · Lenz and Green Walking

Page 553

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

worsted
firmly twisted yarn

Page 555

stepped on
cut, as in weakened the potency of a drug by adding another substance

half-kilo
about 1.1 pounds

Endnote 231

Manitol
a misspelling of manitol

Page 555 (cont'd)

"...go find a short pier..."
and take a long walk, being the implication

aqua-line nose
an aquiline nose

Page 556

anileated
annihilated

hemispasm
spasm on half of the face

insousistent
insouciant

parallaxing
Normally a noun ("parallel") and referring to light, here it's used as a verb (gerund) and refers to sound.

crucifi
Probably Lenz means "crucifixes."

threnody
a funeral dirge

Page 557

To Project and to Swerve
a pun on the police motto "To Protect and Serve"

hoovered
inhaled

Endnote 232

benzoylecgonine
the major metabolite of cocaine

ecgonine
an organic chemical found naturally in coca leaves

benzoic acid
the simplest of the caroxylic acids

spider angiomas
a type of [benign tumor

rhinorrhagia
bleeding from the nose

blepharospecticity
This means something like "seeing through one's eyelids."

ballism
another name for hemiballismus

oral labia
the lips of the mouth

Paliacci
a misspelling of Pagliacci (Clowns), an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919), an Italian composer

diuresis extremus
extreme production of urine and, thus, need to urinate

phobophobia
fear of fear

sociosis
a neurosis that has to do with one's ability to deal with society

acne rosea
also known as rosacea

rhinophyma
a red nose caused by amassing of granulomas there

synergism
the property of things working together

confabulation
talking

lingual tendinitis
inflammation of the muscles of the tongue

pulmonary phasece
I have no idea.

Page 557 (cont'd)

sangfroid
coolness of the blood (from French)

fob
an ornament attached to a pocket watch by a chain

chamois
Pronounced "shammy," this is a cloth or piece of leather used to shine a surface.

Track and Flange
not a real magazine

ergo
Latin: therefore

energois de vivre
something like "energy of living," although energois isn't a French work

Page 558

Estuarial crocodile
the estuarine (saltwater) crocodile

A.D.A.
American Dental Association

akido
Lenz means aikido.

valise
a small piece of luggage

recurvent
i.e., recurrent

t'ai-chi
alternate spelling of Taiji

Page 559

mescal
an alcoholic beverage distilled from a cactus

cableyarrow
Caballero (Spanish for "gentleman") is what he means.

in vitro
Latin for "in glass," this term is used to refer to experiments that happen in test tubes. Lenz means in vivo, i.e., in utero.

560 (1) · Hal Counts His Breaths

Page 560

photosynthesizing
turning light into energy, as plants do

Baobab tree
a tree native to Africa and India

pride
family of lions

560 (2) · Lenz and Green Continued

Page 560

septum
the cartilage separating the nostrils

reguiles
i.e., regales

Shangri-la
the utopia of the novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton (1900-1954), a British author

kamasupra
Lenz is referring to the Kama Sutra.

Page 561

Fall River
a city in Massachusetts about 50 miles south of Boston

poofta
i.e., a poofter, a vulgar term for a male homosexual

intrepid
fearless

fauna
wildlife

Shawshine River
also known as the Shawsheen

ravacious
This would seem to be a cross between "ravenous" and "rapacious."

Page 562

scat-piles
piles of feces

feti
plural of fetus

yrstruly
yours truly

propitiating
appeasing

diem
Latin: day