Pages 563-588
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Contents
November 11th, YDAU - Snippets from Gately's informal-interface moments
Page 563
Page 564
cheese-nibbler
i.e., a rat
skittery
shy or coy
Page 565
nomonous
malaprop: anonymous
Orin and the "Swiss" Hand Model
Page 565
Sky Harbor
the airport serving Phoenix
I-17/-10
Interstate 17 runs from Phoenix to Interstate 10, which to Flagstaff, Ariz.
Endnote 234
Endnote 234 - Excerpts From Orin's Interview With Moment
Page 566
languor
feeling of exhaustion and relaxation
propitiate
to win or reclaim favor with
Page 567
Idris Arslanian & the blindfold
Page 567
Dural edema
swelling of the dura mater due to excess liquid
Page 568
perforce
by force of circumstance
Page 569
in toto
Latin: completely
nubbin
a small lump
insurmagulate
Pemulis probably means to say "insurmountable."
micturate
urinate
Page 570
Rindge-Latin Remedial
A dig at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Cambridge, MA's public high school
avail
advantage, use, efficacy
"...part the veil of Maya.."
This means to glimpse transcendental truth by parting the veil of Maya. Why Idris, a Muslim from Pakistan, would be aware of this Hindu reference is not explained
presaging
an indication or warning of a future occurrence
Page 571
hot
i.e., radioactive
UF4
chemical notation for uranium tetrafluoride, used in some nuclear reactors
Heavy Water
deuterium oxide, water in which the hydrogen in the molecules is partly or wholly replaced by the isotope deuterium, used esp. as a moderator in nuclear reactors
zirconium
a transition metal element, atomic number 40, symbol Zr
Da
a common Irish nickname for one's father
cuc—
Pemulis is probably about to say "cuckold."
Page 572
coprolite
fossilized dung
A.E.C.
Atomic Energy Commission
Men's Sanity in Corporate Sterno
Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) is a Latin quotation, often translated as, "A sound mind in a healthy body
anathematic
likely to be greatly hated
Endnote 238
meta-disease
a disease syndrome, or a disease that itself causes other diseases
Page 572
Jawohl
German for "yes" in a particularly enthusiastic way
Page 573
sterabolic anoids
malaprop: anabolic steroids
rapacial
malaprop: rapacious
"...each month's prime numbers..."
Which would be the second, third, fifth, seventh, eleventh, thirteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-third, twenty-ninth, and thirty-first (when the month has thirty-one days)
decelerated
slowed down
jacklights
shines a special very bright light Into the eyes of an animal, so as to induce temporary immobility, for the purposes of hunting
Page 574
a whole different kettle of colored horses
a combination of "a whole different kettle of fish" and "a horse of a different color."
Eliotical
referring to T.S. Eliot, author of The Waste Land
repose
rest
Orin Realizes Something
Page 574
Junoesque
(of a woman) imposingly tall and shapely. Juno is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Hera. Orin means to say that "Helen" is like a goddess.
Page 575
Rt. 85
Arizona State Route 85 connects Interstate 10 to the Mexican border near Lukesville, Ariz.
(November 11th, YDAU) - Lenz and Green, cont.
Page 575
rhynophemic
a misspelled reference to rhinophyma, the reddening of the nose common to alcoholics
"...like a seahorse..."
Seahorses actually have two eyes.
G.E.D.
General Equivalency Degree, the equivalent of a US high school diploma, earned by passing a test. The GED is a way for someone who failed to complete high school to earn a high school diploma later in life.
Endnote 239
N2O
nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas
thiopental sodium
another name for sodium pentothal, a powerful general anesthetic
Page 575 (cont'd)
mumus
the plural of what is actually muumuu, a long, formless, loose-hanging dress
brocade
fabric woven with an elaborate design
hove
past tense of "heave"
Page 576
infernous
malaprop: Lenz is apparently thinking of "infernal"
striated
striped
ensconce
to establish or settle firmly or comfortably
ordinational
i.e., ordinal, or increasing by number
Governor Claprood
possibly a misspelled Marjorie Clapprood, who was the Democratic nominee for Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor in 1990.
jounce
to move joltingly up and down
recesstacle
apparently a portmanteau of "recess" and "receptacle"
excretate
apparent portmanteau of extricate & excrete
sojourn
not a synonym for "journey," as Lenz is using it, but rather a term meaning a stay in a place for a prolonged period
derisive
intended to offend or insult
excretate
i.e., extricate
plaintiffly
malaprop: Lenz means "plaintively."
Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis (born 1933) was governor of Massachusetts (1983-1991) and the 1988 Democratic nominee for President.
18th-Circus
malaprop: that should be "18th Circuit."
Page 577
1.5-meter
about 4.9 feet
Hapless to administer
Helpless?
Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis (Piet) Mondrian (1872-1944) was a Dutch painter. His work often featured a gridwork of black squares and rectangles, as seen right, which could be read as an urban map.
defiles
narrow passageways
blaze-trailing
wordplay: trailblazing
eyeshot
neologism: wordplay on 'earshot'
5/4
A relatively rarely employed rhythmic meter in music with five quarter-notes per measure, famously heard in the Dave Brubeck Quartet's recording of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" and in Lalo Schrifin's "Theme from Mission: Impossible." In usual practice, the jazzy rhythm actually has four beats per measure, the first two of which are half again as long as the others: long, long, short-short; long, long, short-short; and c.
'shine
a derogatory term for a Black person (in which the apostrophe probably represents the elision of the racially stereotypical occupation, shoeshine)
plasm
probably used here in the sense of a dense gas
zithery
provoking the sound of the zither, a stringed instrument
rimed
covered with frost
kalpacs
a high-crowned felt or fur hat worn by Turks and Central Asians
iridescent
displaying all the colors of the rainbow
Y.C.A.
Youth Corrections Act
distorting a testament
modifying a will
patissiers
French: pastry chefs
Page 578
The way Lenz pronounces brother involves one r.
i.e., "brothah"
lume
a short term for the luminous phosphorescent glowing solution applied on watch dials
Gauguin-colored
see image of one of the Impressionist's paintings at right
garish
crudely colorful
Page 579
Buns of Steel
still available for sale
entomological icecubes
fake (plastic) icecubes with insects seemingly frozen inside
sedentary
involving much sitting
bosun
slang sailor term for a boatswain
doting
adoring
Falstaff
a brand of beer discontinued in 2005
World's highest-calorie food except...
In fact, the pili nut has a slightly higher caloric content than the macadamia, and the pecan runs a very close third.
suet
fatty tissue surrounding the kidneys of cattle and sheep, used in cooking
Gummi Bears
a small candy originating in Germany
Page 580
ejaculatory
casting or throwing out
cardiac
i.e., a heart attack
cyanotic
afflicted with bluish discoloration due to a lack of oxygenated blood
opaque
cloudy; not allowing light through
scourged
afflicted with great suffering. also, beaten with a whip
brambled
beaten with thorns
Page 581
tetryl
an explosive used to make detonators
V.F.W.
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Rotarians
members of Rotary International
Shriners
members of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
W. Miller
William Miller (1782-1849) was an American religious leader and one of the founders of the Seventh-Day Adventist movement.
tracts
religious pamphlets
anti-Capital activists
I.e., against the death penalty
Defarge
Madame Thérèse Defarge is perhaps the principal revolutionary villain in Charles Dickens's 1959 novel A Tale of Two Cities; she knits into her needlework the names of the royalists and aristocrats who must be condemned to the guillotine to make way for the new republic.
roiling
in a state of turbulence or agitation
fezzes
Turkish- or Middle-Eastern-style hats (see right); worn by Shriners
O.D.C.
Ohio Department of Corrections
igneous
descriptive of molten rock produced by volcanic action, implying that "Green's guilt, pain, fear and self-loathing" are now lava-like in their heat and destructive capabilities
blue neon
In fact, neon has a distinctive orange-red color when electrically charged; this "blue neon" is probably argon with some mercury, as shown in the Wikipedia entry for Noble gas (see the section on "Discharge Color").
sump
cesspool
Page 582
warbly
warbling, i.e., trilling or quavering
acclivity
an upward slope
languid
lacking spirit or energy
dogleg
a route that turns at a sharp angle
psoriatic
this is in reference to psoriasis, a skin condition that produces whitish, scale-like scabs of dead skin; the paint is flaking or peeling
eclectic
originating from a diverse variety of sources
Choosy Mothers
probably taken from the Jif peanut butter commerical slogan: "Choosy Mothers Choose Jif"
Endnote 241
passé
out of style
Page 583
midbrain
another name for the mesencephalon
intaglioed
engraved
disincentive
a deterrent
War of the Welles
a reference to the film War of the Worlds, itself adapted from the 1938 radio play by George Orson Welles (1915-1985), American actor and filmmaker
slack-key steel guitar
a combination of two Hawaiian guitar genres shown here
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy Ho (1930-2007) was a Hawaiian musician.
Sol Hoopi Players
Solomon Ho'opi'i Ka'ai'ai (1902-1953) was another famous Hawaiian musician.
blue and white Quenucker flag
A blend word derived from "Quebec" and "Nuck" (offensive for Canadian, and seen throughout I.J.). The flag here is the Quebec flag, as seen to the right
dormer
a part of a building containing a vertical window sticking out of a slanted roof
JBL
an audio wares company
Page 584
skulk
to move about secretively
Shetland
a Shetland pony, giving some idea how big the dog is
towheaded
possessing a head of light blonde, almost white, hair
noblest oblige
a superlative pun on noblesse oblige, the requirement of the wealthy to be kind to those less fortunate
undulate
to move like waves
Hawaii Five-O
a television series than ran in the late 1960s and 1970s
Page 585
etiology
cause of a disease or condition
Southern Comfort
an orange-flavored whiskey
anomic
absence of the social, cultural, or ethical standards typical in a given individual or group, (here, a possible malapropism for "anemic")
no-load funds
mutual funds in which shares are sold without a commission or sales charge
dustruffle
also known as a bed skirt, a skirt of fabric intended to prevent the accumulation of dust beneath a bed
andante
in music, this word indicates a moderately slow tempo
Page 586
Don Ho: From Hawaii With All My Love
This doesn't appear to be a real record.
lalations
misspelling of "lallations," i.e., baby-talk
Day-Glo
a brand name of glow-in-the-dark fabrics
Geiger counter
a machine used to measure radioactivity
'My Lovely Launa-Una Luau Lady'
Nor does this appear to be a real song.
p.m.
per minute
Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad
Canadian
i.e., in French
Montego
either the Austin Montego or the Mercury Montego
cammed
equipped with an aftermarket camshaft to increase performance, perhaps here simply meaning custommized
slingshot dragster
a type of classic drag racing car pictured
here
Page 587
swarthy
dark-skinned
Molson
a Canadian brand of beer
coheres
becomes logically consistent, i.e. coherent
scruff
nape of the neck
32-kilo
a little over 70 lbs
Party-Size Cubelets
miniature ice cubes
Page 588
aphasia
speechlessness
jabber
to talk rapidly
'Dyu!'
most likely Dieu!, French for "God!"
tailback
in American football, the back who is positioned farthest from the line of scrimmage
Page 589
180s
turns half-way around, i.e., 180º
lee
away from the wind