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!
Contents
November 11th, YDAU - Gately and Joelle
Page 531
boilermakers
shots of whiskey chased with beer
keep
i.e., the barkeep
Page 532
Cumberland
This must refer to the Cumberland River, which flows into the Ohio near Paducah, in the western part of Kentucky, close to Joelle's home town of Shiny Prize (see page 237).
O.D.
overdose
Page 533
metronome
a time-keeping device for musicians, typically a pendulum-like machine that clicks to provide meter
caparison
rich and sumptuous clothing or equipment
Page 534
a Type and a Symbol
These words are used by Mr. Hooper to describe the veil he wears in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "The Minister's Black Veil".
Page 535
gregarious
sociable
Page 536
Page 537
Page 538
slavering
drooling
☽ - Randy Lenz: Rats, Cats, and Dogs
Page 538
Duster
the Plymouth Duster was a sporty compact available from 1970 to 1976
12-gauge blast
as from as 12-gauge shotgun
Page 539
loafer one
presumably first step of the day, meaning Lenz never leaves Ennet House until after sunset
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.
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
Eurotrochaic
neologism: Euro[pean] + trochaic; here, describing the alternating two-note sound of a European emergency siren (trochaic being the adjectival form of "trochee," a metrical foot of poetry comprised of two feet, stressed and unstressed)
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 Religious 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
Caldor-brand
a chain of discount department stores in the US Northeast. The chain closed its last store in 1999.
Scopophobic
Of scopophobia; the fear of being seen or stared at.
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
Early November, YDAU - Rodney Tine and the Samizdat
Page 548
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
Page 549
U.S.O.
Undercover Special Operations
P.E.T.s
positron emission tomography, a kind of medical imaging technique
November 9th, YDAU - Pemulis wanders the E.T.A. offices at night
Page 550
Page 551
Page 552
Page 553
November 11th, YDAU - Lenz and Green Walking
Page 554
RIJID-brand male hairspray
appears to be a fictional brand of hairspray
Page 553
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 mannitol
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
song of mourning for the dead
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. The correct greek-latin term should be diuresis extrema, diuresis being a feminine noun.
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
formation of false memories
lingual tendinitis
inflammation of the muscles of the tongue
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 "life energy/force," although energois isn't a French word
Page 558
Estuarial crocodile
the estuarine (saltwater) crocodile
Bonwit's
a reference to the now-defunct upscale department store Bonwit Teller
A.D.A.
American Dental Association
akido
Lenz means aikido.
valise
a small piece of luggage
recurving
i.e., recurring
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.
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
Lenz and Green, cont.
Page 560
septum
the cartilage separating the nostrils
reguiles
i.e., regales
Shrangi-la
Lenz means 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