Pages 827-845
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827 · More With Gately in the Hospital
Contents
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Spam
a brand of spiced ham
tallly insubstantial ghostish figure
'tall' used adverbially with 3 successive "L"s. cute.
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phantasms
apparitions or specters
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quanta
plural of quantum, an indivisible entity of energy
Heisenbergian
Werner Karl Heisenberg (1901-1976) was a German physicist and one of the fathers of quantum mechanics.
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velour
a felt that looks like velvet
strigil
an instrument for scraping the skin after bathing
extrude
to thrust out
ACCIACCATURA
defined here
ALEMBIC
a device used for distillation made up of a tube connecting two containers
LATRODECTUS MACTANS
a black widow spider
NEUTRAL DENSITY POINT
it's not clear what this refers to, but it's quite possible it refers to a concept in optics similar to the concept applied in a Neutral Density Filter, given Infinite Jest's optics motif - this can be read about here
PROPRIOCEPTION
the sense of the relative position of the parts of the body
TESTUDO
a genus of tortoises
BRICOLAGE
the creation of an artistic work from a diverse range of things that are around
CATALEPT
a person suffering from catalepsy
GERRYMANDER
the breaking up of territory into electoral districts so that one political party has a majority in as many districts as possible
LAERTES
a character from Hamlet who seeks to kill the title character
STRIGIL
defined here
CHRONAXY
alternate spelling of chronaxie
POOR YORICK
The (dead) jester in Hamlet. The quote referred to is by Hamlet, holding Yorick's skull after Yorick's remains are uncovered: 'Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest'
LUCULUS
a Roman general of antiquity
MONTCLAIR
the model of car owned by James Incandenza's father, Mario
DE SICA
Vittorio De Sica (1902-1974) was an Italian filmmaker, probably most famous for The Bicycle Thief.
CIRCUMAMBIENTFOUNDDRAMALEVIRATEMARIAGE
Circumambient means walking around. "Found Drama" was one of James Incandenza's contributions to film artistic history. Levirate marriage is a tradition in several cultures whereby the younger brother of a deceased man marries the dead brother's widow.
HELIATED
infused with helium
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'Ren and Stimpy'
the main characters in a once-popular animated television series
'Oo Is 'E When 'E's at 'Ome'
or "Who Is He When He's at Home?", which is apparently a common Irish saying
'Exposed Northerners'
Wallace is punning on the name of the once-popular television show Northern Exposure.
fractional
comparatively small or insignificant
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figurants
performers with no spoken lines
The Sorrow and the Pity
a film about the Nazi occupation of France
Heineken Maneuver
Gately means "Heimlich Maneuver."
Schwulst or Altman
The only Schwulst I can find is Lance Schwulst, who is probably not the person referred to. Robert Bernard Altman (1925-2006) was an American filmmaker.
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DEXTRAL
right-handed
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shell-game
a con game
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Mennonite
an Anabaptist denomination named for Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Frisian religious leader
vapid
lacking liveliness or spirit
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packy
short for "package store," it's where one buys alcohol
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beeswax
i.e., business
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lit
landed
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ü
a German diphthong, somewhere between /u/ and /ee/
Stetson w/ feather
Stetson hats or Stetsons refers to the brand of hat manufactered by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri. The word 'Stetson' is sometimes used as a genericized term for a cowboy hat. Although the Stetson company makes other styles of brimmed hat, the Stetson name has become synonymous with a style it pioneered, featuring a high crown and wide brim, popularly known as a Cowboy hat. Wikipedia
penchant
a predilection
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