Pages 620-651
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Contents
☽ (Mid-November, YDAU) - WYYY Engineer goes "sunning"
Page 620
baud
a unit of one bit per second in data transmission
couture
high-fashion women's clothing
carpal neuralgia, phospenic migraine, gluteal hyperadiposity, lumbar stressae
hand pain, migraines with flashing lights, fat buttocks, and lower back pain
"...all three O.N.A.N. time zones..."
Three is considerably fewer time zones than the five the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii) currently span, plus the Atlantic Time Zone, in which some of Canada can be found.
genuflecting
kneeling to the ground on one knee, esp. to convey respect
sub-rosa
secret
'spect-ops'
Perhaps a play on the popularized military term 'spec-ops,' meaning 'special operation(s).'
Gapers' Blocks
traffic delays caused by rubbernecking, i.e., blocking or retarding traffic by stopping to gape at the scene of an accident
Page 621
apotheosis
the process of being raised to godlike status
coprolaliac
uncontrollably disposed to the use of profanity
nucleic
pertaining to the nuclear force, which binds protons and neutrons into atomic nuclei
PAs
public-address sytems
nostrums
patent medicines, i.e., quack medicines
Cultists in saffron with much percussion
members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna movement) in their distinctive saffron-colored (orange) robes, likely carrying Mridangams and tambourines
bunting
loosely woven fabric in a generally half-circle shape; red-white-and-blue ones can be seen hung on podiums, porches, baseball stadiums, etc, especially on the 4th of July and other patriotic holidays
c.
abbreviation for circa, Latin for "around," used here in the sense of "approximately"
mufflered
wearing scarves
sylvan
woodsy
Page 622
phylogenic
From phylogeny, the study of changes and developments in organisms' lineages. Phylogenetic is the more common adjectival form.
möbiusizing
a neologism for taking on the shape of a Möbius strip
coccyx
tailbone
scopophile
someone who derives pleasure (usually sexual) from looking at something
dun
grayish brown
martial at ease
a military stance with feet shoulder's width apart and hands clasped behind the back
Endnote 258
peasant skirt
a long, flowing skirt usually featuring bands of embroidery
Page 622 (cont'd)
Gregg pen
purview
scope of vision
Page 623
verdigrised
covered with grayish-green rust
statues of ducklings in a row
Wallace is referring to an actual statue in Boston Public Garden shown here
Robert McCloskey
Robert McCloskey (1914-2003) was an American author and illustrator of children's books.
Make Way for Ducklings
Read about this book here.
greensward
stretch of grassy turf
lithe
slim and gracefully flexible
...play a game with a small beanbaggy ball...
a reference to hacky sack (or "hackey sack")
5º C
41º Fahrenheit
attenuated
weakened, also pertaining to the propagation of waves in telecommunications
unmoored
opposite of the nautical term moored meaning fastened or secured in place (as in a boat)
stupor
state of near-unconsciousness
appurtenances
equipment, e.g., clothing, tools, or instruments, used for a specific purpose or style of living
Bread & Circus
a small chain of health-food stores that first opened in Brookline, MA, in 1975 and acquired by Whole Foods Market in 1992
sepia
dark brown, as in the pigment used to make very early photographs
chanting very softly 'Smoke'
i.e., surreptitiously peddling marijuana
undercapitalized
lacking sufficient funds to complete a business transaction
Page 624
thermal
an upward current of warm air
metallurgy
the making and conducting of alloys
chyme
semi-fluid partially digested food
Mass Comm.
Mass Communications
Page 625
allay
put to rest
triptych
three-fold
micronized
reduced in particle size to only a few microns (millionths of a meter) in diameter
ICU
Intensive Care Unit
swart
swarthy, i.e., dark-skinned
Basilar
related to or situated at the base, especially the base of the skull (as with the basilar artery); capitalization could suggest a fictitious branding, perhaps a competitor of Otis
half a house
a half-way house
copless
without policemen
M.D.C.
Metropolitan District Commission, a former Massachusetts state agency that was responsible for maintenance of public parks and roads in the Metropolitan Boston area
hackysackers
players of a game (hacky sack) where people in a circle kick a small leather bag around to one another (see "game with a small beanbaggy ball" on page 623)
slaloms
moves around in a zigzagging fashion
moguls
a bumps on a ski slope formed by the repeated turns of skiers over the same path
coruscant
sparkling
Page 626
Autoteller
an ATM (automated teller machine)
moguls
bumps of the kind often seen in snow on ski slopes
coruscant
glittering
November 11th, YDAU - Mealtime at ETA
Page 627
fenestrated
having windows
R.H.I.P.
Rank Has Its Privileges
mastication
chewing
Page 628
P.O.W.ish
greedily, in the manner of prisoners of war
Liberal KS
To be exact, it's three miles via Route 83 to the Oklahoma border.
C/W
Country & Western
juris-prudential precepts
rulings from a court of law
Beefeater
a British brand of gin
clapboard
a long, thin board, thicker along one edge than the other, used in covering the outer walls of buildings (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
nuptial
marital
Page 629
toilet-eau
eau de toilette (French: toilet water) is used mainly by women and is less concentrated than perfume, but more concentrated than eau de cologne, which is used more commonly by men
connubial
marital
Birkenstock
Birkenstock is a German brand of sandals and shoes (see right)
glutens
a mixture of wheat proteins
torpor
sluggishness
turrets
refers here to small towers of the kind seen on medieval castles and other fortifications, often built with battlement crenels (notches) for use by defensive archers
Page 630
"...like Roosevelt at Yalta..."
a reference to the supposed bullying by Stalin of FDR at the conference at Yalta in 1945 to cede Eastern Europe to Soviet control
saltpeter
potassium nitrate or nitre, an ingredient in gunpowder, it was (is) commonly believed to be used in food fed to prisoners and even military enlistees (or other predominantly male populations, such as boys' schools and Boy Scout troops) to curb libido; there is no evidence that it causes erectile dysfunction, but large amounts can have dangerous (poisonous) side effects
regrout
replace the grout (construction material used to seal the gaps between tiles)
Seldane
a brand-name of non-drowsy antihistamine
carminative
a herb mixture that prevents gastrointestinal pressure and gas
Page 631
carb-caloric (from page 630)
Cranberry juice is higher in carbohydrates than other juices because of the larger amounts of sugar added to sweeten it, cranberries being less naturally sweet than, e.g., oranges or apples.
mammarial
resembling or having to do with breasts
lecithin
a mixture of fats found in milk and other foods
semicolonized
otherwise, it's a comma splice
autolysis
perhaps used here in the sense of digestion, although the term actually refers to self-digestion, the destruction of a cell through the action of its own enzymes
buttinskis
i.e., the right to butt into line
R.H.I. literal P.
Rank Has Its literal Priveleges (see R.H.I.P. on page 627)
Tryna
i.e., trying to
scooters
apparently a slang term for "dollars"
déjà vu
From French for "already seen," it's the sense that you're re-experiencing something.
Page 632
saltire
the Cross of St. Andrew
tektitic
referring to fossils formed by meteoric impacts
foist
to insert deceitfully
Page 633
he thinks a manila folder's a Filipino contortionist
Manila being the capital of the Philippines
Grant's Tomb
The trick answer to the question is "no one." As the tomb is above ground, Ulysses S. Grant is technically "entombed" and not "buried." The obvious answer is Grant himself, and, in fact, he and his wife Julia are both entombed there. The General Grant National Memorial overlooks the Hudson River, in Riverside Park in Manhattan (New York).
the one about what do Canadian girls put behind their ears to attract boys
Presumably a reference to this old riddle: Q: What does a blonde put behind her ears to make her more attractive? A: Her ankles.
cubist
suggestive of Cubism, the early-20th-century avant-garde (not après-garde) art movement
Crohn's Disease
also regional enteritis, an inflammatory disease of the bowels
Page 634
Endnote 261
offal
garbage, particularly rotting meat
Page 634 (cont.)
post-prandially
after eating a meal
tantric
referring to a particular branch of Hinduism, but very particularly to the sexual aspect of this branch, which emphasizes long sessions of sexual intercourse
Twister
a parlor game produced by Hasbro that involves contorting the body
cataract
waterfall
reticent
tending to keep one's thoughts to oneself
colposcope
a scope used to examine the internal female reproductive organs
Combat Zone
an area of Boston known for prostitution and sex shops
Page 635
bussed
cleaned up
jejune
naive and childish
patellar tendon
the tendon connecting the patella (kneecap) to the tibia (shinbone)
B.B.
Big Buddy
asexual
not sexually active or not attracted to either sex
contingent
group of people sharing a common trait within a larger group
Page 636
nascent
beginning to develop
Sapphic
i.e., lesbian, the reference being to Sappho, the ancient Greek poet from Lesbos
Penal Matron
in other words, a female prison warden
Polycleitos
more commonly Polykleitos, a Greek sculptor of the fifth century BC most commonly known for his canonical sculpture Doryphoros (see right)
Hermes
the messenger god of Greek mythology
Theseus
a hero of Greek mythology
swart
i.e. swarthy - of dark complexion or color
mottled
marked with irregular patches or smears of color
Page 637
staccato
in music, notes sounded in a detached manner
acerbic
sharp or biting
hick
a person from a rural area
spitter
a spitball, in baseball
tsunami
tidal wave
Page 638
olla
a pot for making stew, or stew itself
tsimmes
a fruit and vegetable casserole
riches nouveaux
French: new riches; here an inversion of nouveaux riches, i.e., "newly rich"
Amway
the American-based international direct-sales retailer
Pet-Rockish
inane, like the fad phenomenon of the small stones marketed as live "pets," requiring care and feeding, in the silly '70s
May 1st, YDAU - Steeply & Marathe discuss an obsession with M*A*S*H
Page 638
Page 639
acronym
MASH stands for "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital."
prima facie
Latin: at first sight
Troy, New York
a college town about ten miles from the state capital of Albany
wens
harmless cysts on the scalp or face
Page 640
Canadiens of the N.L. of H.
the Montreal Canadiens, a team in the National Hockey League
Page 641
canned laughter
prerecorded laughter used on the soundtracks of some filmed comedies (which are not "filmed before a live studio audience"), but also a reminder of the incident involving the can of macadamia nuts (page 580)
Bröckengespenstphänom
German: Brocken is a German mountain and the brockengespenst refers to the large shadow an observer on the mountain casts in a certain lighting. This is an allusion to a scene from Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow.
Page 642
Marsh or Swamp
The principal male characters in M*A*S*H lived in the same tent, which they called "the Swamp."
Endnote 263
Betamax
the smaller format of videotape that was eventually pushed out of the market by VHS
Page 642 (cont'd)
transperçant
French: penetrating across
Major Burns
a "villain" character played by Larry Linville
Page 643
Troy Record
a tabloid-style daily newspaper for the city of Troy, NY
inveterate
habitual
Maury Linville
Steeply is misremembering Larry Linville.
'In the South Korea of history.'
sort of implying that in the time of the novel, there's only one Korea again
'You are not meaning your sister was a goat.'
bearing in mind that "kid" also means a baby goat
Page 644
Korean Police Action of the U.N. This is a reference to the Korean War, which involved military support from United Nations member nations (in defense of South Korea from the invading North). The war actually lasted three full years.
baroquoco
This would seem to be a mix between "baroque" and "rococo".
augured
predicted; forecast
Page 645
Page 646
Alda
a reference to M*A*S*H star Alan Alda
transmural infarction
heart attack
ventricle
one of two of the four chambers of the heart
Page 647
mesquite
a spiny shrub with bean pods
Dick Willis
There was a spy named Richard Willis (1613-1690) active during the English Civil War (1642-1660). This is also the name of a professional peer of Steeply in the novel, first mentioned earlier.
Ossified
turned to bone
plura
a misspelling (likely) of "pleura," which is a thin membrane enclosing the lungs
Page 648
November 13th, YDAU - Kate Gompert & Geoffrey Day discuss It
Page 648
Page 649
benign
harmless
anomaly
something like nothing else (i.e., an outlier)
Page 650
malevolent
intending harm
magna cum laude
Latin: with high honors
Page 651
130-kilo
286.6 pounds
