Revision as of 09:40, 28 November 2013

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November 11th, YDAU - Hal plays Stice

Page 651

Vespa
a brand of motor scooter

half km.
1,640 feet

galumphers
Galumph is a portmanteau of gallop and triumph. From Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky

Page 652

pericardium
the membrane surrounding the heart

loogy
term for a glob of phlegm

southpaw
left-handed person

McEnroe-Esconja
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born 1959), was a professional tennis player from 1974 to 1992, with seven Grand Slam wins. Esconja appears to be a made-up name.

frieze
a decorative band on a wall or other piece of architecture

Page 653

ad court
service box, left box on the player's own side where odd points are played

half-volley
to hit the ball after it hits the ground but before it reaches the apex of its flight

passed
in tennis, a passing shot is a shot which travels out of the opponents reach, typically occurring when the opponent is running to or has reached the net

mentation
mental activity

book
probably stemming from the gambling phrase "make book on," meaning to make or accept bets on

deuce
This is the score call when both sides in tennis are tied with a score of 40 or thereafter. The progression is 0 or "love," 15, 30, 40, and "game," but the winner must win the final two volleys. When each side has won three volleys, the call is "deuce" rather than 40-all; the next volley won creates "ad [advantage] in" if won by the server(s) or "ad out" if won by the opponent(s). If the side with the advantage wins the next volley, it wins the game; otherwise the score returns to "deuce." Sets are won by the first side to take six games; but sets must be won by at least two games. (In much match play, best-of-twelve-point tiebreakers are played when the sides are tied at 6-6 games. Thus a set score can be 6-4, 7-5, or 7-6, but never 6-5.) A tennis match is won by the side that takes three out of five sets (more commonly for professional male tennis players) or two of three sets (for women and amateurs).

Page 654

lozenges
diamond-shaped objects

cathected
emotionally or mentally invested

reticence
reluctance

pejorative
meant to offend or belittle

1200 meters
3,937 feet

Page 655

Four-odd clicks
Four clicks is four kilometers, or about 2.5 miles.

blarneyed
to flatter or wheedle

2.8 clicks
1.7 miles

Endnote 266

Azores
a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic

Houdini
Harry Houdini (born Ehrich Weisz; 1874-1926) was a Jewish-American magician.

manacles
handcuffs

neo-Georgian
a revival of Georgian architecture or style

Page 655 (cont'd)

M.S.T.
Mountain Standard Time

deltoid
triangular

languor
the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia

jape
to joke with or make fun of

hollandaise
a sauce that is an emulsion of butter and lemon juice using egg yolks; the sauce is usually a light buttery yellow in color

Page 656

Gregg shorthand
a form of stenography developed in the U.S. in 1888

double-fault
two successive faults in serving, resulting in the loss of the point

Endnote 267

ace
a service winner in tennis, i.e., a legal serve that is not touched by the receiver, most commonly seen on the first service

Page 656 (cont'd)

'sprocketed
behaving like a sprocket, a wheel with a row of teeth for engaging the links in a chain commonly found on bicycles

serial
following a fixed series of actions

ad-in
indicates that the server has the advantage, meaning that at deuce (40-40) the server only needs on more point to win. otherwise, the score returns to 40-40 (see the note for deuce on page 653)

ads
i.e., advantages

whale
to hit hard

Page 657

Heimliched
employed the Heimlich maneuver to forcibly dislodge an obstacle, such as a food particle, that is causing choking

let
a play in tennis that calls for a replaying

inculcate
to teach by repetition

Page 658

precipice
steep rock face or cliff

twenty-six meters
85.3 feet

ungainly
ungracefully or awkwardly

simian
ape-like

chip
a short, high hit

Page 659

half a meter
1.64 feet

hipshot
as if having a dislocated hip

chinks
narrow openings

Page 660

drop-volley
a ball hit just over the net, causing the opponent to rush forward

Page 661

Self
a real magazine, seen here

bovine
like a cow

Page 662

sardonic
mockingly derisive; not quite the same as sarcastic, which more often involves irony: a sarcastic remark may say one thing but mean the opposite, whereas a sardonic comment may simply be scornful without indirection