Pages 785-808

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!

785 · A First-Time Visitor to Ennet House

Page 785

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

Page 786

depose
ask questions of someone while under oath

A.T.E.
Hal is wearing his jacket inside out.

Page 787

Endnote 324

787 (2) · The Molly Notkin Interview

Page 787

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

Endnote 329

heuristic
serving to indicate or point out

Page 788 (cont'd)

Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad

Rube-Goldbergesque
Reuben Garret Lucius "Rube" Goldberg (1883-1970) was a Jewish-American cartoonist, famous for drawing incredibly complicated devices used to perform simple tasks.

Page 789

parturient
about to give birth

synecdoche
This complicated figure of speech is explained here.

venery
the gratification of sexual desire

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.

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

cerise
a vivid purplish red

malcathected
attached to emotionally in a negative way

Page 792

Liebestod
German: love of death

antinomically
in a manner suggesting opposition of laws

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

menses
menstruation

Pap smears
screenings for female reproductive cancers, named for Georgios N. Papanikolaou (1883-1962), a Greek oncologist

Putti
Italian: statues of human babies

Page 793

tines
prongs of a fork

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."

795 (1) · Endnote 332

Page 795

Endnote 332

795 (2) · Hal's First 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."

shunpike
a side road to avoid taking a turnpike

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

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

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
an old brand of shaving cream that advertised with consecutive road signs that rhymed

Lombardy
a region of northern Italy with its capital at Milan

quoins
cornerstones

Page 798

deignition
shutting down of an engine

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

scrip
paper money

São Paulo
the capital of Brazil

altruistic
tending to do good things for their own sakes

"...the color of Thousand Island dressing..."
sort of light orange

Page 800

bereft
deprived, especially by a death

Page 801

diglobular
consisting of two lumps of fat

Page 802

treacly
Sentimental; too sweet.

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 minimal.

quaaludes
Methaqualone. A sedative often used recreationally.

Page 803

inguinal
situated in the groin

lachrymucus
mucus flowing as a result of crying

obliquest
Most oblique; slanted.

Dedham
a town in Massachusetts about 12 miles southwest of Boston

Wharton
The business school at the Ivy-League University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. Generally believed to be the most prestigious undergraduate business school in the world. Also highly regarded at post-graduate levels.

Endnote 336

sudoriferous
sweaty

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
A civet is a small carnivorous mammal that emits a strange smell.

fenestration
The arrangement of windows and doors on the elevations of a building.

Page 805

dandling
Move a baby up and down in a playful manner.

Fred MacMurray
Fredrick Martin MacMurray (1908-1991) was an American actor who starred as a father in the 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

plume
Here, a stream of water resembling a feather.