Pages 470-489
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Contents
Pre-dawn, May 1st, YDAU - Steeply & Marathe on the Pleasure Center
Page 470
stereotaxy
also known as "stereotaxis," this is three-dimensional brain imaging
Elder, Elders
James Olds, co-discovered the "pleasure center"
plutonium-239
a fissile isotope of plutonium
ablative surgery
a treatment for neurological disorders involving freezing or burning of brain tissue
Page 471
Q-dopa
not a real neurotransmitter
Page 472
MK-Ultra
an actual CIA mind-control experiment starting in the 1950s and continuing well into the 1960s and possibly 70s
Endnote 198
Orlikow et al. v. United States of America
This was a real case, and you can read the proceedings here.
Page 472 (cont'd)
G.C.
Government of Canada, perhaps
M.M.P.I.
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a commonly administered psychological test designed to give an overview of personality, neuroses, etc.
Page 473
Millon's
the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, another psych inventory
Approception
apparently not a real test
shiatsu
a type of Asian massage
weal
well-being
Turner, Bush, Casey
Admiral Stansfield Turner was head of the CIA from 1977 to 1981. George H.W. Bush (later President) was CIA head from 1976 to 1977. William J. Casey was head from 1981 to 1987.
Langley
the town in Virginia where the CIA is headquartered
Page 474
divans
couches or sofas
rutting
heat, i.e., sexual excitement
N.S.A.
National Security Agency
C7
The C7 is a modified version of the American M-16 combat rifle. It's implied here that C7 was some kind of security apparatus, but there is no evidence that such a body existed.
Page 475
Gately Driving / Antitoi Brothers
Page 475
princess-and-pea
a reference to the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea," wherein despite several mattresses, a princess can still feel a single pea below her
cluster migraines
Cluster headaches and migraines are actually two distinct syndromes.
feldspar
a rock-forming mineral
Page 476
E.R.
Emergency Room
Rebel Yell
a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War
CITGO
one of the major oil companies. The neon Citgo sign described here is an iconic landmark in Boston.
70 kph.
about 43.5 miles per hour
Father & Son Market...Riley's Roast Beef
all of these are references to actual stores and clubs in Allston/Brighton, though many have closed or been renamed and some are on nearby streets and would not be visible to Gately as he drives down Comm. Ave.
CVS
a large chain of drugstores
75 k
about 46.6 miles per hour
ς
the Greek letter sigma as it appears in lower case at the ends of words
mysticetously
in the manner of a baleen whale
cognomen
a descriptive nickname
Page 477
tallboys
16oz cans of beer
80 kph
almost 50 miles per hour
Berklee School of Music
a real school, one of the highest-prestige music schools in the U.S.
Page 478
tonic machines
"tonic" is a (rapidly disappearing) Boston area term for carbonated soft drinks.
Endnote 202
argot
slang, jargon
Escherian
referring to the work of Maurits Cornelis (M.C.) Escher (1898-1972), a Dutch graphic artist famous for his illustrations of repeated patterns and impossible structures. "Escherian signs" would seem to indicate signs that are confusing or impossible to follow.
Page 478 (cont'd)
Bread & Circus in Inman Square
a real health food store on Prospect Street in Cambridge between Central and Inman Squares. The Bread & Circus chain was bought by Whole Foods, so this store is now operating as a Whole Foods.
slalom
to zigzag between obstacles
Page 479
bodegas
small grocery stores, usually in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods that are also usually owned and operated by Spanish-speaking people
crèche
a nativity scene
propinquous
Probably what's intended is "propinquitous," meaning "proximal" or "nearby."
Chickens Fresh Killed Daily
a reference to the prominent 'Live Poultry Fresh Killed' sign of the Mayflower Poultry Company at 621 Cambridge Street, East Cambridge, about a half a mile from Inman Square.
Ryle's Jazz Club
a reference to Ryles Jazz Club (no apostrophe) in Inman Square, Cambridge, at 212 Hampshire Street.
briar pipes
a type of pipe for smoking
60 k
about 37.3 miles per hour
Page 480
MF
Millennial Fizzy
aerodyne
a heavier-than-air aircraft deriving lift from motion
viz.
abbreviation for videlicet (Latin), meaning "namely" or "specifically" or "in other words"
CQBC
not a real entity, but probably here denoting a French-Canadian radio station
monomitotic
"Mitosis" is cell division, and Wallace is playing with words again: "monomitosis" could be the one-time-only splitting of a cell; in this case, the "cell" is a group of insurgents rather than the biological unit, and "monomitotic" might imply that once it splits (i.e., separates to accomplish its targeted task), it dissolves or disbands.
Gaspé Peninsula
a region in northern Québec
U.S.A. Civic War hero's Boylston St. statue
probably a reference the Robert Gould Shaw statue that Joelle van Dyne passes on p. 223. DFW appears to have moved the Shaw memorial from Beacon Street to Boylston Street.
chiens-courants
French: running dogs, hounds
Page 481
Van Buskirk of Montreal
appears to be a fictional glass company
Provincial Autoroute 55
Quebec north-south highway that runs from Shawinigan to Stanstead at the US border, where it connects with...
U.S.A. 91
Interstate 91, which runs from New Haven, Conn, to Derby Line, Vt., at the Canadian border
Bellow's Falls VT
a town off Route 91, about 70 miles west of Manchester, N.H.
paisley
a popular design originating in Scotland
Nehru jacket
A collarless jacket named for Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), first Prime Minister of India and father of Indira Gandhi
école-spéciale
French: special school
Ste.-Anne-des-Monts
city on the north shore of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec
Va chier, putain!
French: Piss off, whore!
trop formidable
French: too strong
Page 482
Basel
a city of Switzerland about 50 miles north of the capital of Bern
tu-sais-quoi
French: you know what
impost
something imposed, as a tax or duty
Page 483
Endnote 204
Saprogenic
of or pertaining to putrefaction or rotting
Page 483 (cont'd)
illicit
illegal
IL NE FAUT PLUS QU'ON PURSUIVE LE BONHEUR
French: It is no longer necessary to pursue happiness
Page 484
125-kilo
about 276 lbs
defile
a a line of soldiers
ROPAS
Portuguese: CLOTHING
glyph
a symbolic figure that is usually engraved or incised
Page 485
union-suit underwear
one-piece long undergarments
stelliform
in the form of a star
Page 486
transperçant
French: "stabbing or piercing," but also "transfixing"
baguette
a long roll of French bread
cerise
deep red to purple in color
teratoid
resembling a monster; monstrous (from Greek teras, terat- "monster.")
'n soir, 'sieur
an elision of bon soir, monsieur, i.e., "Good evening, sir" in French
'Malhereusement, ton collégue est décédé. Il faisait une excellente soupe aux pois.'
French: Sadly, your friend is dead. He made an excellent pea soup.
on p. 425, Marathe outlined a hypothetical in which two people both wanted a Habitant soupe aus pois that belonged to someone who had recently died
'Non? Ou c'était toi, faisait-elle?'
French: No? Or was it you that made it?
Page 487
wangs
slaps or bangs against
frère
French: brother
sphincter
Any muscle in ring form, here it means the anus, which has failed Lucien by allowing him to soil himself
ne pas plaisanter
French: not pleasure
iront paître
French: they will go to eat
entend-il?
French: Does he hear?
maxillofacial
relating to the jaw and face
Page 488
inutile
French: useless
natal
like a baby's
aphonia
loss of or inability to speak due to damage to or disease of the larynx
aphrasiac
the inability to speak words in intelligible order
Chic-Choc lakes
the Chic-Choc mountains are in the Gaspé Peninsula
Cap-Chat
a town in the Gaspé Peninsula
inguinal canal
a passage in the lower front part of the abdominal wall
sigmoid
the sigmoid colon is the part of the large intestine closest to the rectum
muskie
short for "muskellunge," a type of fish
Page 489