Pages 785-808
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Contents
November 17th, YDAU - A First-Time Visitor to Ennet House
Page 786
depose
ask questions of someone while under oath
A.T.E.
Hal is wearing his jacket inside out.
Endnote 324 · John Wayne loses it
U.S.O.U.S. "interviews" Molly Notkin
Page 787
homburg
a felt hat with a brim meant for a man
post-Marxist
an adherent school of thought that encompasses the arts as well as politics
Page 788
co-op
a co-operative, i.e., an apartment building that is jointly owned by the tenants
V or VI
The filmography of Incandenza presented in an earlier (lengthy) endnote would seem to indicate that there were only five versions of the film, although the fifth version was apparently reviewed, which would mean that the "entertainment" so desperately sought is actually a sixth version.
instantiation
a representation of an idea, here visual
anamorphosized
changed from one form to another as a step in evolution
lalating
anybody's guess, although perhaps similar to ululating, as suggested by Amy Batchelor in one of her interesting Thoughts in Random Patterns (8 August 2005)
Endnote 329
heuristic
serving to indicate or point out
Page 788 (cont'd)
Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad
ghastlyly
even funnier coming from someone with a first name ending in -ly; simply ghastly functions as the adverb (rarely) as well as the adjective (could Molly be lalating?)
Rube-Goldbergesque
needlessly convoluted, like one of the machines for which Jewish-American cartoonist Reuben Garret Lucius "Rube" Goldberg (1883-1970) was famous
Page 789
parturient
about to give birth
synecdoche
This complicated figure of speech is explained here.
glabrous
hairless
venery
the gratification of sexual desire
chicanery
deception by trickery or sophistry
keel
This word denotes "the principal structural member of a ship, running lengthwise along the center line from bow to stern, to which the frames are attached" (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Here it is used in the sense of "on an even keel," i.e., sane.
real filmic McCoy
an interpolation of "filmic" (cinematic) into the familar expression "real McCoy," signifying authenticity
Page 790
interrment
a misspelling of interment, i.e., burial
thanatoptic
regarding a vision of death
Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar
felo de self
a misspeaking of felo de se
Page 791
olla podrida
a type of stew popular in Spain (and the pot in which it is prepared and served)
cerise
a vivid purplish red
wattles
wattles are ornamental skin on or near the base of the bill of certain birds, in this case the red wattles on the turkey's beak
ghastlyly
see note for Page 788 supra
anamorphic
see here for a discussion of the cinematography technique
anti-Picaresque narrative statis
This is one―or a small part of one―of Molly's pseudoscholarly (not to say "Rube-Goldbergesque") tropes. A picaresque work is the satirical, episodic story of a roguish hero (or antihero) of low birth and behavior that borders on the criminal (see here for examples of picaresque novels, including Don Quixote, Tom Jones, and Huckleberry Finn). The phrase here may imply a storytelling technique at odds with the picaresque literary style (i.e., not a first-person narrative or not told from the protagonist's point of view; not without plot; not static in terms of the [anti-]hero's character development; not satirical; etc.). Also, of course, see Endnote 331.
malcathected
attached to emotionally in a negative way
all of Vienna
implying all psychoanalysts, or at least all adherents of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
Page 792
Liebestod
German: love of death
antinomically
in a manner suggesting opposition of laws
perspicuous
clearly expressed
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) was a French philosopher.
Incest and the Life of Death in Capitalist Entertainment
There is no such title.
malefic
having a bad influence
reagent
a substance used to produce other substances
menses
menstruation
Pap smears
screenings for female reproductive cancers, named for Georgios N. Papanikolaou (1883-1962), a Greek oncologist
Putti
a play on Pookie (the baby-talk version), but also Italian (plural of putto) for representations of male infants or cherubs often seen in Renaissance (and other) paintings
Page 793
actaeonizing
a neologism in reference to Actaeon, a young hunter in Greek Mythology who looked upon Artemis bathing, who turned him into a stag; he was then killed by his own hunting dogs
tines
prongs of a fork
genuflectory
servilely respectful (to the extent of kneeling before)
beau
boyfriend
Page 794
bell-jar
a type of laboratory glassware -- also the title of a novel by Sylvia Plath
itinerant
traveling from place to place
pointers
A pointer is a breed of hunting dog
Page 795
Lucille Duquette
Molly is lying about Joelle's real name, but this name means something like "Light of the Collection."
bradykinetic
slow moving
Endnote 332 · Pemulis just slays deLint
Hal's First Anonymous Meeting
Page 795
Endnote 333
exurbs
towns too far away from cities to be called "suburbs" but not far enough to be rural
Nantucket
an island of Massachusetts about 30 miles south of Cape Cod
Page 795 (cont'd)
Route 27
a Massachusetts highway running from Route 106 in Kingston to Route 4 in Chelsmfold
Page 796
condonation
overlooking of an offense
Abandoned All Hope
In Dante's Inferno, the sign above Hell reads, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
C. C. Reservoir
presumably "Cleveland Circle Reservoir," though the actual reservoir next to Cleveland Circle is known as the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.
shunpike
a side road to avoid taking a turnpike, in this case, the Mass Turnpike (I-90).
Rte. 9
a Massachusetts highway running from US-20 in Pittsfield (western Massachusetts) to Route 28 in Boston
I-90
an interstate running from Seattle to Boston, with the Massachusetts section designated the Mass Turnpike
NPR
National Public Radio
George Will
George Frederick Will (born 1941) is a conservative American columnist. Wallace implies that he has had his voicebox removed and now speaks with a prosthetic voicebox.
Cleveland Circle
a neighborhood of Boston
Page 797
Æolic
an ancient Greek dialect spoken between 800 and 300 BC
ὃνμγα
It's Greek to me, but it seems that mu and gamma may be transposed in what should probably transliterate to onyma.
Thynne
This is probably a reference to Francis Thynne (1544-1608), an English administrator at the College of Arms in London.
taproot
something that provides a central source for growth
Cynewulf
probably a reference to the Anglo-Saxon poet by that name
penumbra
a shadowy, gray area
gneiss
a form of metamorphic rock
Quabbin
the name of a reservoir in Massachusetts
Burma-Shave signs
small sequential road signs used to advertise an American brand of brushless shaving cream from 1925 to 1963; see examples here
Lombardy
a region of northern Italy with its capital at Milan
quoins
cornerstones (see right)
Page 798
deignition
shutting down of an engine
Draconyl
perhaps a nonce adjective indicating that the carpet is made of Dacron, the synthetic polyester fiber, but could be an invented extension of the trademark, because it appears later on the page as a noun
lintel
a horizontal piece of architecture supporting the weight above a window or door
puce
dark or brownish purple
'Seated Harlequin'
You can see this painting here.
Page 799
Rubikular
referring to Rubik's cube
eagle-, leaf-, and broom-emblemized
presumably the vestigal U.S.A. bald eagle and Canadian maple leaf, so the broom could be the symbol of O.N.A.N.
scrip
paper money
Natick
a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston (and part of the Greater Boston area)
São Paulo
Brazilian metropolis
altruistic
tending to do good things for their own sakes
"...the color of Thousand Island dressing..."
the pastel salmon color resulting from mixing mayonnaise and tomato ketchup (among other ingredients, including pickle relish)
Page 800
sibilance
hissing sound
bereft
deprived, especially by a death
Page 801
diglobular
consisting of two lumps of fat - here it refers to, however, his globe-like head seated atop his globe-like body, as mentioned on the previous page
Page 802
treacly
sentimental; overly sweet; cloying
space-and-spacecraft emblem
see NASA logo at right
mauve
a moderate grey-violet to red-purple color
apneated
as if punctuated by temporary cessations of breathing
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born 1937) is an American music composer and pianist. His music is repetitive and minimalist.
quaaludes
capsules or caplets of Methaqualone, a sedative often used recreationally
Page 803
inguinal
situated in the groin
lachrymucus
mucus flowing as a result of crying; rheum
obliquest
most oblique (sloping); "the obliquest portion of his profile" could be his nose
Dedham
a town in Massachusetts about 12 miles southwest of Boston
Wharton
the business school at the Ivy-League University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, generally believed to be the most prestigious undergraduate business school in the world and also highly regarded at post-graduate levels
Endnote 336
sudoriferous
sweaty
agora-compulsive
addicted to the market (shopping)?
Page 804
Humboldt County
probably the county in far-north California.
Year of Dairy Products from the American Heartland
"mercantile counterpart at the Rolling Hills Academy"
a student at Rolling Hills who fulfills at his school much the same role that Pemulis fulfills at E.T.A.
Delta-9
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive substance found in marijuana
MBRO
acronym for "Metro-Boston Recovery Options"
pathos
a quality that evokes pity
pizzicato
the musical effect of the plucking of strings on a classical instrument
civety
civet-like; a civet is a small carnivorous feline mammal that emits a strange smell
fenestration
the arrangement of windows and doors on the elevations of a building
Page 805
dandled
moved up and down in a playful manner (e.g., dandled a baby on one's knee)
Fred MacMurray
Fredrick Martin MacMurray (1908-1991) was an American film and television actor, referenced here for his starring role as the father in the hit television show My Three Sons
in loco parentis
Latin: in the place of parents
swart
swarthy
Page 806
widow's peak
a hairline that comes to a point in the center of the forehead
Ruminative
In the manner of thinking deeply about something.
narcosis
A stupor generally caused by drugs.
Addis Ababa
the capital of Ethiopia
American Falls
the American part of Niagara Falls
Page 807
Keens
Wails.
imperial
A small pointed beard beneath the lower lip. Associated with Napoleon III.
vivisecting
Performing an operation on a living animal for research.
timpani
Large drums used in orchestras.
Cornet
A brass instrument that looks much like a trumpet.
Appian Way
an ancient Roman road
cannoli
an Italian pastry stuffed with sweetened ricotta cheese
Ascension Island
A volcanic island off the coast of Africa.
South Atlantic
South Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is bounded by the east coasts of the Americas and the west coasts of Eurasia and Africa. The area of the Ocean below the equator is referred to as the South Atlantic Ocean.
Page 808
'I Don't Know (How to Love Him)'
a song from the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, sung by the character of Mary Magdalene
"tornadic gale"
Tornado-strength wind.
Azores
A group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Portugal.
cytological
like microscopic cells. On the other hand, maybe this is a deliberate or accidental misspelling of cetological (related to whales). Hal seems to be imagining himself spitting water like a whale spouting water from its blowhole.
plume
Here, a stream of water resembling a feather.