Pages 508-530

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508 · Eschaton Fallout

Page 508

Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment

Page 509

Antron
a real company

lividity
brightness of color

escutcheon
a shield-shaped emblem

cumuli
plural of "cumulus," a type of cloud

D.D.S.
Doctor of Dental Surgery

insouciant
blithely unconcerned

Endnote 209

Brisbane
the capital of the Australian state of Queensland

Page 510

Mannington
a flooring company

pro bono
without pay

Page 511

distaff
the female branch or side of the family, the 'family' in this case being ETA

Phielyism
this is in reference to coach R. Bill ('Touchy') Phiely on the previous page

mnemonic
having to do with memory

Brewster's Angle
an angle of incidence at which light with a particular polarization is perfectly transmitted through a surface, with no reflection. Read more [here]

serrated
having a jagged edge

tulle
a fine, often starched net of silk, rayon, or nylon

Page 512

cyanosis
blueness of the skin caused by deoxygenated blood

J.D.
Juris Doctor, a law degree

Sinistral
left-handed

Short Beach CT
a suburb of New Haven, Conn., about seven miles to the southeast

Page 513

athwart
side by side with

THIRD RAIL
In many subway systems (notably New York's), the third rail is the electrified rail that powers the train(s).

terry
a pile fabric used to make bath towels and robes

Page 514

schnauzer
a breed of dog notable for its beard-like facial hair

I-93
Interstate 93, which runs from St. Johnsbury, Vt., to the suburbs of Boston

Neponset
a neighborhood of Boston

Page 515

Q.v.
abbreviation for the Latin quo vide, meaning "which see"

VIII-Amendment
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens against cruel and unusual punishment.

diction
choice of words

raison d'être
French: reason for being

Page 516

O.N.A.N.F.L.
Organization of North American Nations Football League

Coatlicue
This is the name of an Aztec goddess, one who gave birth to the moon and stars. The reference here is perhaps to Avril.

fulcra
plural of "fulcrum"

stadia
plural of "stadium"

75-meter
about 246 feet

Page 517

dot-matrix printer
one of the earliest-generation computer printers

Ludditism
a philosophy that is strongly against advances in technology, named for Ned Ludd

needly sound
Dot-matrix printers are very loud.

Page 518

Philo IL
town about 150 miles south-southwest of Chicago

transverse colon
the part of the large intestine that runs horizontal across the stomach, parallel to the ground

2 m.
about 6.6 feet

Page 519

Dynamic Duo
usually refers to Batman and Robin

Page 520

Page 521

viscera
internal organs

Page 522

100-mm. rodney
A "rodney" is a cigarette. 100 millimeters is a standard length of a "long" cigarette, and is roughly 4 inches long

Page 523

Granny Smith
a type of sweet, green-skinned apple

distended
swollen in the stomach

complicit
involved in a plot or scheme

ital
italic type

Pawtucket
a town in Rhode Island 5 miles north-northeast of Providence

A.A.A. baseball
a level of minor-league baseball

Page 524

Fuck the Core
i.e., fuck the (Marine) Corps

Page 525

Slobodan
Endnote 221 tells us that this student is Latvian, but this is a Slavic name, and Letts are not Slavs.

Auburndale
a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston

"...best of British luck to you..."
From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable comes this definition: 'Best of British Luck' — an ironic expression of encouragement, implying that the required luck may not materialize... an elaborated form of 'the best of luck.'

Sieg Heil
German for "Hail, Victory," this phrase was used by the Nazis, particularly with the right-handed upright salute particular to fascists.

Page 526

respire
to breathe

mandible
jawbone

Page 527

dais
a raised platform, like a lectern, for speaking or presentation

seagrass
seaweed that grows in shallow beds

ottoman
a footrest that goes with a chair

laddered
having a run (in a stocking)

sallet
a light helmet, usually with a visor

dolefully
in a sorrowful manner

528 · Steeply and Marathe as Dawn Breaks

Page 528

Y.D.A.U.

St-Rémi-d'Amherst
a town in Québec about 80 miles northwest of Montreal

M-o-r-t-s
Morts is the French masculine plural for "dead."

Page 529

Endnote 222

cont. id.
probably "continental idiomatic"

obstreperous
noisy or hard to control

coeval
contemporaneous or equally old

Page 529 (cont'd)

discomfit
to confuse or disconcert

Circe
a goddess from Greek mythology

pregnancy by rain
referring to Zeus's seduction of Danae

rape by fowl
and Zeus's seduction of Leda

Page 530