Difference between revisions of "ATD 358-373"

Revision as of 11:29, 24 December 2006

Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.

Page 358

Camp Bird
???

Archie Dipple
???

imported years ago
???

cylindrical hats
pic?

Page 359

bunco-steerer
A con man or fraudster, but the use here seems less malicious than usual.

Macking for a mack
???

Page 360

across the day
???

taken in
Out = alive; in = living dead.

Saturday nights
Since "V" Pynchon has presented heavy drinking as a virtue.

sanctuary
(Why leave free places at all, though?)

Chicago-built
Railway hub leads to manufacture of heavy goods.

Sean O'Farrells
???

army "A" tents
A-Frame tents are canvas tents supported by a vertical pole at either end and a cord or horizontal pole between the two along the top. When viewed from the entrance end, they form a triangle, hence the name. Image of Civil War era A-Frames.

bars had toothmarks
(Patrons so drunk they sit on floor and gnaw edge of bar?)

Page 361

cowboy-dancing
(I can't picture this.)

undeniable miracle
Hipster resuscitates sappy cliche.

Willow
???

Page 363

the Wall
Death?

chavalitos
Kids (Spanish).

calico recital
IE, wife's conventional plea.

Page 364

Denver
Actually mine school at Golden, 15 miles west?

purple... orange
(Clashing colors keep turning up as a motif.)

January colt
???

Borrasca
Borrasca in Spanish means storm, squall, depression, or area of low pressure. But apparently it can also mean an exhausted mine, and 'Going borrasca' means "becoming mined-out". Interestingly, this is very close to the English word 'borassic', ie. out of cash. This comes from Cockney Rhyming Slang: 'boracic lint' meaning 'skint', ie without any money.

Page 365

Bridget McGonigal
???

fill the day
(Day motif.)

Page 366

sled
(Cf Dally and Frank.)

Jake
Okay (slang).

Page 367

Thrapston Cheesely III
???

Madame Aubergine
"Aubergine" is French for eggplant.

Ruperta Chirpingdon-Groin
???

Yup Toy
Expensive yuppie gadget, eg iPod.

naphtha-light
Obscure fuel-into-light motif variant.

Page 368

$3.50-a-quart
About $75 today.

an exquisite
???

Monsieur Peychaud
???

Sazeracs
A New Orleans cocktail. Wikipedia entry.

Bob Stockton
???

bengaline
???

Medici collar
???

bastard chinchilla
???

Page 369

cheurice
???

Italian Troubles
???

Va fongool-a
???

Maman Tant Gras Hall
Mama-So-Fat Hall.

guignette
???

"Dope" Breedlove and his Merry Coons
???

traps
???

Page 370

Ramos gin fizz
Another New Orleans cocktail. Wikipedia entry.

Benjamin Tucker
???

Land League, boycotting
The word boycott arose in the autumn of 1880, to describe the action instituted by the Irish Land League towards those who incurred its hostility and is derived from the name of Captain Charles Boycott, the estate agent of an absentee landlord.

Jass
The OED lists the earliest print usage of "Jazz," originally a dance and not, as in current use, the musical form, as 1909. The exact dating of this episode is unclear, though it seems likely to have occurred earlier. It is by no means implausible, however, that the usage is not anachronistic and that the term might be part of the spoken vernacular at this point in history, though its precise usage (as a musical form rather than a dance) may be slightly anachronistic. As for the unusual spelling, the OED lists "Jass" as a variant, though with no information as to where or when it was prevalent.

Wolfe Tone O'Rooney
The Wolfe Tones are and Irish folk band whose music is rooted in the history of the country [1].

Fenian
Term (often derogatory) for Irish nationalists. Thought to be derived from the name of the mercenary tribes who protected the king of Eire.

"Sligo and Tipperary"
Counties in Ireland. Wikipedia pages for Sligo and for Tipperary.

tenor
???

Page 371

Red Onion
New Orleans night club on Rampart St. where "Dope" Breedlove and his Merry Coons play a gig.

the Deux Espèces
the Two Species (French), "a Louisiana-style road ranch deep in the red-light district.

Flaco
Skinny man (Spanish), Irish dissident and demolitions expert.

Page 372

Montjuich
???

latifundios
???

assassinated
(Date.)

readily found
(Why?)

Page 373

conjugate... spill
???

Despedida
???

beignets
New Orleans-style square, holeless doughnuts usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, famously served at Cafe Du Monde. Website.

Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876), Russian anarchist and revolutionary. Wikipedia entry.

Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin (1942-1921), Russian prince and anarchist, author of Mutual Aid. Wikipedia entry.

Eusebio Gómez
???

a sus órdenes
Sp., "at your service."

Annotation Index