Pages 442-469
- 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
☽ YDAU - Gately's struggle to understand a Higher Power
Page 442
Braintree
a town in Massachusetts about 13 miles south-southeast of Boston
Page 443
opine
to state one's opinion
easement
An easement is a right to use part of someone else's land for a limited purpose, often a right to cross it on a defined pathway. Thus the Higher Power as a cheese-easement refers to Gately's analogy to a lab rat who's learned one route through a maze to the cheese.
rote
repetition
thoroughgoingly
absolutely
Page 444
Probie
probation officer
10-cm.
a little under 4 inches
Our Father
the Lord's Prayer
hawgs
"Hog" is a slang term for a Harley-Davidson
mantis
the praying mantis
Page 445
SOP
standard operating procedure
spats
a covering for the uppers of shoes
Quincy Market
a shopping area in downtown Boston. Like the nearby suburb, Quincy is pronounced "Quinzy."
affable
showing warmth and friendliness
Rte. 3
highway running southeast from Boston along the South Shore toward Cape Cod
Hennessey
a brand of cognac
Page 446
sampler
a piece of cloth embroidered with stitches, sometimes incorporating platitudes
Estonian
the native population of Estonia
wrought-iron
iron in nearly carbon-free form, making it readily forged
M.P.
military policeman
brig
prison on a Navy ship
Page 447
fluted
marked or having grooves
Bulat
actually a common Kazakh first name
Yirrell Beach bridge in Point Shirley
these are references to Winthrop, a coastal town just northeast of Boston and separated from Logan Airport by a narrow inlet of Boston Harbor. Interestingly, Sylvia Plath's family lived for a time in the Point Shirley section of Winthrop and in 1960 she wrote a poem titled "Point Shirley."
Page 448
filial
pertaining to a son or daughter
Nimitz
Chester William Nimitz (1885-1966) was a U.S. admiral and commander of Naval forces in the Pacific during WWII.
cognomen
distinguishing nickname
in the bag
intoxicated
afghan
a type of blanket
Page 449
Endnote 179
chivalric
considerate and courteous to women
Page 449 (cont'd)
Sir Osis of Thuliver
i.e., cirrhosis of the liver
vessels
He means "vassals."
Very late October, YDAU - Madame Psychosis's unannounced sabbatical
Page 449
shale
the most common sedimentary rock
Page 450
alto
having a lower female voice
Horkheimer and Adorno
Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist, a founder and guiding thinker of the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) was a German sociologist and fellow member of the Frankfurt School.
Patridge Family
the band featured on the television series of the same name
narcotized
drugged
timbre
tone of voice
Endnote 180
Rectus Bulbi
short name for the superior rectus muscle
tripartite
divided into three parts
Page 450 (cont'd)
sarcophagally
in a way suggesting a coffin
November 9th, YDAU - Morning Drills
Page 450
Page 451
permutations
arrangements of the same items in different sequences
"...the thing it's not entirely impossible he may have fathered..."
This is to say that C.T. may have been Mario's father and not James O. Incandenza. Given that C.T. and Avril are blood relatives, this would explain Mario's profound birth defects.
bradypnea-afflicted
afflicted with an abnormally slow breathing rate
anodized
coated with metal
perk
i.e., perquisite, a special benefit
Page 452
alfresco
outside
alpaca
wool taken from an animal closely related to the camel and llama
Kaopectate
brand name of parapectolin. A pink, clay-like antidiarrheal; believed to work by adsorbing the bacteria or germ that may be causing the diarrhea.
canted
put in an oblique position
reveille
the trumpet call played in the morning to awaken sleeping soldiers
corona
crown or halo
Page 453
muzzle
the barrel of a gun
capacious
spacious, i.e., too big for Hal
Erythema
does not appear to be an actual suburb of Tucson. The word means redness of the skin as the result of various causes, including infection and sunburn.
rejoinder
sharp, witty response
bratwursts
This is a small German sausage composed of pork and beef; the name is German for "chopped meat sausage."
VAPS
vector/angle/pace/spin
Page 454
revenant
one who returns after death or a long absence
Puker
a punitive run designed to make one vomit
American Twist
another name for a kick serve
2 m.
over 6'6" tall
Page 455
low 10's C
10º C is equal to 50º Fahrenheit.
claret-colored
dark purplish red
nacreous
like mother of pearl
baroque
of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of artistic expression prevalent especially in the 17th century that is marked generally by use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension (Source: Merriam-Webster)
Page 456
picric
Picric acid is an explosive, so the word "picric" w/r/t clouds probably implies an explosive (or about to explode) quality. It is also a toxic yellow.
Parade Rest
a relaxed military stance with the feet shoulder's width apart and hands clasped behind the back
pro forma
as a routine, formality
Page 457
fungoes
In baseball a fungo is a pop fly deliberately hit to train players in fielding. Presumably here, in tennis, these balls are hit in a deliberate place in a deliberate manner to exercise a particular skill.
quarter
here meaning "mercy"
Page 458
forvart
"forward", said with a German accent
Page 459
23.8 meters, 8 I think .2 meters
approximately 78 feet by 27 feet, the dimensions of a singles tennis court
Page 460
Gymnasium Kaiserlautern
The Web site is here. Kaiserlautern means something like "Emperor acclamation" in German and is a city in southwest Germany.
Raggedy Andy
a popular doll seen here
z coordinate
the measurement of depth
Gaugin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) was a French artist who lived in Tahiti.
Page 461
morendo
a musical term meaning "a gradual decrescendo at the end of a strain or cadence" (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary), from the Italian for "dying"
More on Gately at Ennet House
Page 461
1964 Ford Aventura
There is no such car, and the Mustang itself was not introduced until a few months before the 1965 model year (although the earliest ones were sometimes designated 1964 1/2).
Purity Supreme Market
A New England supermarket chain that ceased operations in 1997 after being bought by a competitor.
Page 462
Year of the Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishmaster
DUI
Driving Under the Influence
D&Ds
Drunk and Disorderly conduct
Possession With Intent
i.e., with intent to distribute
D.S.A.S.
Division of Substance Abuse Services
constabulary
a body of peace officers
Page 463
Murder-2
second-degree murder, or murder without premeditation
pace
contrary to
Deer Island
an island in Boston Harbor, and until 1991 the site of the Suffolk County House of Correction
hinked
According to the OED, hink as a verb means "to halt" or "to falter." The implication here is that 90 days in jail isn't much to Gately since he'd already served 17 months in another sentence.
Page 464
Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad
Page 465
women's leg-shaver thing
i.e., Epi-Lady
misprision
contempt against the government or courts; however, it can also mean, in a non-legal sense, misunderstanding, which may be the meaning here (for example, Gately confusing "epilepsy" with "Epi-Lady")
Cape
i.e., Cape Cod
Page 466
J.C.
Jesus Christ
pap
something lacking true value or substance
Page 467
Page 468
Korean-War-vintage
The Korean War (1950–53) was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China, with air support from the Soviet Union.
Nixon administration
January 1969 to August 1974
Page 469
188 cm. and 128 kg.
Gately is a hair over 6'2" and weights over 282 lbs.
flask-alkie
i.e., an alcoholic who carries a hip flask containing a small amount (8-12 oz.) of liquor
Ashland KY
a city on the Ohio River about 120 miles south of Columbus, Ohio