[These are definitions and annotations for David Foster Wallace’s novel, Infinite Jest. These notes were compiled by my students at Williams College in January 2005].

 

 

pg. 3

YEAR OF GLAD:  Presumably Glad refers to the trash bag company, given the “promotional subsidy of the North American calendar,” (pg. 33).

half-Windsors:  refers either to the ties worn by the faces, or the knots of the ties.

C.T.:  Charles Tavis.

court-shaped:  as in the shape of a tennis court.

 

pg. 4

O.N.A.N.C.A.A.:  Organization of North American Nations Collegiate Athletics Association.

wen:  an abnormal growth or a cyst protruding from a surface especially of the skin

aver:  to prove to be true

top-hole:  same as top-notch, meaning of the highest quality

 

pg. 5

top-slot:  same as ‘top-hole’

Kekulean:  referring to German organic chemist Friedrich August Kekule

 

pg. 6

aviarian:  bird-like

 

pg. 7

 

 

 

 

monograph-length:  as long as a learned treatise on a small area of learning.

lapidary:  having the elegance and precision associated with inscriptions on monumental stone.

effete:  delicate or effeminate

Fourier:  Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier,  French Mathematician

Mimetic:  imitative

Stasis:  state of equilibrium

Montague Grammar:  a formalization of natural language

Physical Modality:  physical form
Tertiary:  a member of a monastic third order especially of lay people).

Justinian Erotica:  referring to “racy mosaics” of the reign of Roman emperor Justinian.

sotto:  under ones breath.

 

pg. 8

Quadrivium-Trivium:  encompassing all seven of the liberal arts in medieval universities, the “upper division” consisting of  “arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy,” the “lower division” consisting of “grammar, rhetoric, and logic”.

minor-sport:  sports such as tennis, in comparison to sports like football and basketball.

 

pg. 9

N.A.A.U.P.:  North American Athletic…?

de moi:  French, meaning ‘mine’.

hip-shot:  Having the hip dislocated; having one hip lower than

the other.

 defecatory posture:  the posture assumed during defecation (seated with elbows on knees).

Don:  a head of a Mafia family

RICO:  Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act

 

pg. 10

Brewster’s-Angle:  relationship for light waves in which maximum polarization (vibration in one plane only) of a ray of light may be achieved by letting the ray fall on a surface of a transparent medium so  that the refracted ray makes an angle of 90° with the reflected ray.

dickied:  slang, implying a illegally changed for the better.

Pooh-wear:  clothing featuring Winnie the Pooh.

hirsute:  hairy.

 

pg. 11

O.:  Orin

presbyopic:  a visual condition apparent especially in middle age in which loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye causes defective accommodation and inability to focus sharply for near vision.

I.D.:  identify

countenancing:  seeing, perceiving.

Rototrembling:  trembling thanks to recent use of the Rototiller.

ideogram: a picture or symbol used in a system of writing to represent a thing or an idea but not a particular word or phrase for it.

 

pg. 12

creatus:  something that is “manufactured, conditioned, bred for a function” (pg. 12).

Nunn Bush:  shoe brand.

 

pg. 13

half nelson:  wrestling hold in which one’s arms is pinned behind one’s back.

polysyllables:  groups of sounds that are not necessarily words.

pases:  movements of a cape by a matador in drawing a bull.

enfilade:  gunfire.

 

pg. 14

nothing

 

pg. 15

espadrilles:  type of shoe

kangaroo-interview:  an interview not taken seriously.

provably:  adverb form of ‘prove’.

bazoo:  same as wazoo, slang for the anus.

cirri:  plural of cirrus, as in clouds.

2-D martinet:  two-dimensional puppet.

 

pg. 16

barnwood:  aged and weathered boards, esp. those from dismantled barns.

starboard list:  tilting to the right.

infantophile:  lover of children.

hypophalangial:  having short  fingers.

 

pg. 17

YEAR OF THE DEPEND ADULT UNDERGARMENT:  like Glad, Depend Adult Undergarment is a corporate sponsor of the North American calendar.

graven:  carved of stone.

O.E.D. VI:  The Oxford English Dictionary, Volume six.

nonarchaic:  contemporary.

 

pg. 18

nothing

 

pg. 19

TP:  Teleputer, displays ‘cartridges’ of films, entertainments, etc.

 

pg. 20

cartridges:  futuristic version of video cassettes or DVDs.

InterLace:  store comparable to Blockbuster Video that rents out film cartridges.

pipes, screens and tubes and rolling papers and roach clips:  various marijuana-smoking paraphernalia.

 

pg. 21

Wedekind festival:  theater festival to celebrate the German playwright, Frank Wedekind.

rapacious:  ravenous.

 

pg. 22

pleurisy:  having trouble breathing.

debauch:  lowering of one’s status/morals.

destemmed:  stems taken off – marijuana is sold as buds on stems, but regular smokers often dislike smoking stems, which don’t have the same degree of effect as buds.

 

pg. 23

methamphetamine hydrochloride:  “a.k.a. crystal meth” (pg. 983).

digital equalizer:  stereo equipment that adjusts audio-frequencies.

 

pg. 24

pastiche:  a musical, literary, or artistic composition made up of selections from different works.

magisculed:  improper spelling of majusculed, written in large letters.

genetically enhanced hydroponic marijuana:  marijuana specially grown using hydroponics to enhance its effects.

 

pg. 25

E.W.D.:  Empire Waste Displacement.

land barge:  a dump truck of some sort.

phallocentric:  as in just using her for sex.

carb:  hole on a bong over which one’s finger is placed at the beginning of inhalation of the marijuana smoke, then which is uncovered to allow some oxygen to enter the lungs as well.

dock:  similar to a disc-changer in current CD stereo systems, but used for the futuristic “cartridges.”

 

pg. 26

nothing

 

pg. 27

entombed:  stuck as if dead and in a tomb.

YEAR OF THE TUCKS MEDICATED PAD:  like Glad, Tucks Medicated Pads is a corporate sponsor of the North American calendar.

caries:  tooth decay.

 

pg. 28

SPFFT, SHULGSHULGSPAHHH, MYURP:  sounds associated with opening a soda can, drinking soda, and burping.

 

pg. 29

pejorative:  having negative connotations.

Byzantine erotica:  referring to “racy mosaics” (pg. 29) of the Byzantine period.

beck:  as in, ‘beck and call’, same as ‘summons’.

full-bore:  slang, meaning totally, with passion.

Alexandrian or Constantinian:  two parts of the Byzantine period.

intra-Provincial:  within the Province of Quebec.

 

pg. 30

amanuensis:  one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript.

cum-operative:  also an operative (as in governmental).

alpenstock:  a long iron-pointed staff used in mountain climbing.

esoteric:  intended or understood by a small circlen

mnemonic:  relating to memory.

Jivaro shamen:  native, primitive South American medicine man of the Jivaro region/tribe.  Shamen is actually spelled ‘shaman’.

Ralston:  cereal brand.

high-modulus-graphite-reinforced polycarbonate polybutylene:  type of plastic with high elasticity and reinforced by graphite.

 

 

 

 

pg. 31

mise-en-scene:  background.

anaplastic:  anaplasia, the reversion of cells to a more primitive form.

gyroscopic balance sensor and mise-en-scene appropriation card and priapistic-entertainment cartridge implanted in…anaplastic cerebrum…:  Hal’s father had to have his brain re-constructed from plastic and computer chip-like things.

gastrectomy, prostatectomy, pancreatectomy, phalluctomy:  surgeries of the intestines, prostate, pancreas, and phallus, respectively.

Interdependence Day:  made-up holiday celebrating interdependence between the Canadian provinces.

Mondragonoid: Mondragon, Old French for Dragon Mountain.

oral-lyrologist:  referring to the professional conversationalist Hal talks to.

 

pg. 32

good leg:  Hal earlier referred to problems with his left ankle, so this should refer to his right leg.

widebodies:  tennis rackets.

 

pg. 33

Y.D.A.U.:  Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

apposite: pertinent or appropriate.

E.N.T.:  Ear, Nose and Throat.

maxillofacial:  referring to the jaw.

Toblerone:  brand of Swiss chocolate

Candida albicans:  the organism that causes thrush.

thrush:  a sinus ailment featuring “yeasty sores and sinal impactions” (pg. 33).

nonpareil:  without equal.

ad valorem:  imposed at a rate percent of value

 

 

 

pg. 34

sufism:  pertaining to Sufi, a Muslim mystic.

kif:  variant of ‘kef’, a state of dreamy tranquility.

shari’a-halal:  meat that has been slaughtered according to the Shari’a, code of law based on the Koran.

detritus:  food particles.

nystatin:  an antibiotic that is used especially in the treatment of candidiasis.

stiptics:  actually ‘styptic’, meaning to stop bleeding.

pg. 35

Ulcerated sinal necrosis: localized death of living tissue in the sinus cavity or the surrounding area.

Febrile thrushive pique: a transient feeling of wounded vanity indicating or related to fever.

Fiat: a command or act of will that creates something without or as if without further effort.

TP: Teleputer, displays “cartridges” of films, entertainments, etc.

Dissemination: an idea that is dispersed throughout.

Uvula: the pendent fleshy lobe in the middle of the posterior border of the soft palate.

 

pg. 36

Triptych: a picture (as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side

O.N.A.N.M.A.: Organization of North American Nations Medical Association.

Y.D.A.U.: Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

CBC/PATHÉ: Canadian Broadcast Company, in cooperation with Pathé, the leading independent film producer in Europe.

ROM: Read-only memory.

Nass: the title of the Arabic-language Self magazine.

Swathed: to bind, wrap, or swaddle with a bandage.

Rub’al Khali: great desert of the Arabian peninsula, one of the largest sand deserts in the world.

O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.

halal:  Term used to describe foods that are acceptable for consumption by followers of Islam.

 

pg. 37

Unlibidinous: devoid of sexual drive or desire. 

5s: slang for high five.

 

pg. 38

Nubile: of marriageable condition or age, sexually attractive—used for a young woman.

Wraithlike: having the property of an insubstantial form or semblance.

 

pg. 39

Flaxen: resembling flax, having a pale yellow straw color (i.e. flaxen hair).

Keds: a manufacturer of casual footwear.

Iridescent: having or exhibiting a lustrous rainbowlike play of color caused by differential refraction of light waves that tends to change as the angle of view changes.
Coltish: frisky, playful.

Anfractuous: full of windings and intricate turning.

Diffident: hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence.

Visine: type of allergy eye drops. 

Clorets:  brand of chewing gum.

 

pg. 40

Petulant: insolent or rude in speech or behavior; characterized by temporary or capricious ill humor.

 

pg. 42

Agoraphobic: abnormal fear of being helpless in an embarrassing or unescapable situation that is characterized especially by the avoidance of open or public places.

Portcullis: a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage.

 

pg. 43

Ambush: a brand of multi-purpose cleaner and degreaser.

 

pg. 44

Terminex: company specializing in pest control services.

Blattaria implacablus: roaches incapable of being appeased, significantly changed, or mitigated.

Kevlar: poly (p-phenyleneterephtalamide); material used to make bullet proof vests, trampolines, and tennis rackets.

Hobbesian: relating to the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

 

pg. 45

Asphyxiated: to die or become unconscious by inadequate oxygen, presence of noxious agents, or other obstruction to normal breathing.*

Fantod: a state of irritability and tension, an emotional outburst.

N.O.: New Orleans.

Chalmette: town in Louisiana. 

 

pg. 46

Har-Tru: builders of Har-Tru® Tennis Courts, manufacturer of tennis court equipment and accessories.

VS HiPro: a manufacturer or type of tennis racquet string. (?)

 

pg. 47

CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Company.

Imprimatur: approval of a publication under circumstances of official censorship.

 

pg. 48

James Cameron: American film director.  Works include Titanic, Rambo and Terminator.

Fritz Lang: Austrian film director.  Works include Metropolis, Spione and Woman in the Moon.
Neuralgic: acute paroxysmal pain radiating along the course of one or more nerves usually without demonstrable changes in the nerve structure.*

E.W.D.: Empire Waste Displacement.

F.D.R.: Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Töblerone: a Swiss chocolate with a triangular form, honey and almond nougat.

pg. 49

One-hitter: an apparatus used for smoking—in this case, marijuana—that allows for the complete inhalation of ignited substance.

Bong: a long cylindrical tube made of various material used to smoke marijuana.

Ziploc: a manufacturer of plastic bags and containers primarily for food purposes; Ziploc in context of the passage refers to a resealable plastic bag used to hold marijuana.

 

pg. 50

Esoteric: relating to knowledge that is restricted to a small group.

Gizzard: the muscular enlargement of the alimentary canal of birds that has usually thick muscular walls and a tough horny lining for grinding the food.

 

pg. 51

Prorector: term used to refer to staffers at North American tennis academics who double as academic and athletic instructors.

Simian: resembling monkeys or apes.

ATHSCME: air displacement system manufacturers.

Dendriurethane: material from which the all-weather protective cover of the E.T.A.’s middle row of courts is constructed.

 

pg. 52

Unfenestrated: not having openings or pores.

2M: two-meter vents in the Pump Room.

P.R.: Pump Room.

Schtitt: Gerhard Schtitt, head coach and athletic director at ETA.

 

pg. 53

Dexedrine, Methedrine: known usually as ’drines—i.e. lightweight speed.

Benzodiazapenes: lightweight tranquilizers.

Mudslides, Blue Flames:  (?)

Mild Designer class: a type of MDMA, a hallucinogen known as “Ecstasy,” that has been modified in a crude manner, possibly in a home or non-laboratory setting.

Mushrooms: slang for mushrooms grown and ingested for their hallucinatory effects.

X: shorthand for “Ecstacy.”

Black Star: a type of LSD, a.k.a. LSD-25.

 

pg. 54

Oral B: a manufacturer of toothbrushes and other dental care products.

Old Spice: manufacturer of colognes, after-shaves, body sprays, soaps and anti-perspirants, deodorants.

Wintergreen Kodiak: a type of smokeless tobacco.

Quail: to give way; to recoil in dread or terror.

Narjees: an involved Arab women’s game involving little shells and a quilted gameboard.

Kif: a fine powder created from rubbing the THC crystals off of marijuana buds with a cheese cloth to cheapen the bud. 

 

pg. 55

Demerol, Talwin: meperedine hydrochloride and pentazocine hydrochloride, respectively; both are types of narcotic analgesics that are addictive, with similar effects to morphine.

Élan: vigorous spirit or enthusiasm.

P.D.: police department. 

D.A.: district attorney.

Globe: shorthand for the Boston Globe, an American newspaper.

A.D.A.: assistant district attorney.

Marblehead: town in Massachusetts.

Revere: city in eastern Massachusetts.

 

pg. 56

HBT: Heterjunction-bipolar-transistor; a type of alarm.

ATF: Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

Kismet: fate.

Brookline: town in Massachusetts.

SentryCo: company specializing in home security systems.

 

pg. 57

NyQuil: type of cold medicine.

International Affairs and Interdependent Affairs: fictional publication focusing on world politics.

Adenoidal: exhibiting the characteristics (as snoring, mouth breathing, and voice nasality) of one affected with abnormally enlarged adenoids.

Apocope: the loss of one or more sounds or letters at the end of a word.

Gangrenously: manner causing the local death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply.

 

pg. 58

Post-feral hamster: a hamster that has escaped from domestication and become wild.

Great Concavity: area of the north-east United States ceded to Canada and used as a dumping ground.

 

pg. 59

P.I.T.: personne de l’importance terrible, French acronym  translatable into English as “V.I.P,” very important person.

Intercostal: situated or extending between the ribs.

Guillaume DuPlessis: assistant coordinator of the pan-Canadian Resistance, regarded as a genius by Marathe.  He meets a tragic, grotesque death at the inadvertent hand of Don Gately.

Rigor mortis: temporary rigidity of muscles occurring after death.

Lividity: discoloration caused by bruising.

Comme-il-faut: French, approximately translated in this context as “as one must”;  there is the connotation of custom i.e. military procedure.

M.O.: modus operandi, a method of procedure.

Valium: an anti-anxiety agent used primarily for short-term relief of mild to moderate anxiety.

 

pg. 60

R.I.S.C.: Reduced Instruction Set Computer.

D.S.S.: Department of Social Services.
Carpal neuralgia, phosphenic migraine, gluteal hyperadiposity, lumbar stressae: conditions caused by excessive use of computers and technology.  Respectively: intense, stabbing, electric shock-like pain in the fingers; migraine caused by the excessive excitation of the retina; extreme accumulation of animal fat in the gluteus muscles; stress in the loins or the vertebrae between the thoracic vertebrae and sacrum.

Meatus: natural body passage.

Supine: lying on the back or with the face upward.

Kleenex: brand of tissues.

O.T.C.: over the counter, non-prescription medication.

Pertussive: medication that counteracts the whooping cough or other cough-related ailments.

Analgesic: medication causing insensibility to pain without loss of consciousness.

Megaspansule: (?)

Benadryl: antihistamine treatment for allergies; manufactured by Pfizer.

Seldane: trade name of terfenadine, manufactured by Marion Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, the tactical nuclear weapon of non-drowsy antihistamines and mucoidal desiccators.

Tenuate: a type of diet pill.

 

pg. 61

Dextromethorphan: a dissociative anesthetic used in cough medicines that also possesses powerful psychedelic effects.

Nebulizer: medicine dispenser that emits fluid in a fine spray.

Loquacious: given to fluent or excessive talk.

Opioid: possessing some properties characteristic of opiate narcotics but not derived from opium.

Fugue: a disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the deeds.

Prolix: unduly prolonged or drawn out; too long.

 

pg. 62

Bolection: a molding that projects from the surface of a panel.

Reglet: a flat narrow architectural molding.

Shank: the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle in humans or the corresponding part in various other vertebrates.

 

pg. 63

Dipsomaniacal: quality of having an uncontrollable craving for alcoholic liquors.

Nadir: the lowest point.

Raid: brand of pest-repellant.

O.N.R.: Office of Naval Research.

S.A.C.: Strategic Air Command.

U.S.T.A.: United States Tennis Association.

R.C.M.P.: Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Personnes à Qui On Doit Surveiller Attentivement: French, translatable as literally as possible as “people we must watch attentively.”

Recondite: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend.

Mordantly: manner that is biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style.

Feck: purpose or vitality. 

CNS: central nervous system.

 

pg. 65

U.S.D.D.: United States Department of Defense.

A.E.C.: Atomic Energy Commission.

ARPA-NET: Advanced Research Projects Agency, precursor to the Internet developed in 1968.

Festschrift: a volume of writings by different authors presented as a tribute or memorial especially to a scholar.

Chiaroscuro: the interplay of light and shadow on or as if on a surface; the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow.

Elegaic: of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past. (From the American Heritage Dictionary at Bartleby.com)

ASAP: as soon as possible.

 

 

pg.66

 Amanita muscaria, fly agaric mushroom: one of earliest known shamanic hallucinogens, used in witchcraft/shaman rituals throughout Eurasia

 

pg. 67

psychodysleptic: a class of hallucinogen known for  effects of depersonalization

Sominex: drug for inducing sleep, slogan: "Take Sominex tonight and sleep...sleep...sleep".

convolved: rolled together, wound up together.

 

pg. 68

Watteau: Rococo painter.

Yevtuschenko’s Field Guide to Clinical Studies: fictional title, could be reference to Russian poet of same name

 

pg. 69

Ideation: the act of creating mental objects

hypocapnia:  a state in which the level of carbon dioxide in the blood is lower than normal, often caused by rapid breathing.

Med-Netted: obtained through MedNet, hospital network system

CO-episode: attempt at suicide by carbon monoxide inhalation

hemotoxicity: level of blood toxicity

 

 

 

pg.70

Dretske: possibly reference to Fred Dretske, philosopher, theorizer of processing knowledge

 

pg. 71

plexor: rubber hammer for testing reflexes

plangent: loud and resounding

 

pg.72

Momentumizers:  ??, in context, a sign to continue momentum of conversation

 

pg.73

carpopedal spasms: spasms of hand and foot, esp. in hyperventilation (see note to hypocapnia, pg.69)

tetanic contraction: muscle spasm

 

pg.75

circumoral: around the mouth

thigmotactic electrode: probing electrode that contracts or moves on contact with an object, probably fictional device

Sinse: slang for marijuana, short for Sinsemilla, potent strain of marijuana

 

pg.76

uremic:  pertaining to uremia, in which there is excessive build-up of nitrogenous waste in bloodstream/urine

Parnate: antidepressant

DuBois: a smoking device, probably a one-hitter, derivation unknown

 

 

pg.78

Nichols and the big Indian: reference to Milos Forman’s movie of Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” wherein electroshock therapy is shown in a negative light.  “Nichols” refers to Jack Nicholson, who played the lead, and the big Indian refers to Chief Bromden, a character in the story.

 

pg.79

rictus: gaping mouth

leptosomatic: having a thin body

 

pg.80

post-prandial: after a meal

calliopsis: yellow and purple flowered plant

quincunx: arrangement of five objects with one at each corner of a rectangle or square and one at the center.

plosivity: speech sound as in “P” or “B.”

 

pg.81

Wimbledon’s motto: “Sine Labe Decus”, Honor without Stain

tympana: space on triangular pediments for decoration

TE OCCIDERE POSSUNT SED TE EDERE NON POSSUNT NEFAS EST:  “They can kill you but it is sinful for them to eat you”, literally

 

pg. 82

aleatory: by chance

infoliating: neologism, opposite of “exfoliating”, pieces joining back together

diagnate: ??

Lieber Gott nein: “Oh God No!” (?) in German.

 

pg. 83

palestra: gymnasium, from Greek

experialist­: another neologism, where imperialism refers to invasion and colonialism, experialism must mean something almost the opposite.  In context, “experialist” refers to the “Interdependence” of the United States and Canada. 

 

pg. 84

life is pro-death: goes back to Hal’s assertion that “God is pro-death”.  Interesting use of pro here:  pro-death=for death, life is literally “for death”, then.

 

pg. 87

rodney’s tip: slang for cigarette tip

pg.88

Goethe: German writer and scientist

Bröckengespenstphänom: ghostly light-and monster-shadow phenomenon particular to certain mountains. 

pg.89

M. Fortier: Maranthe’s superior

matte: having a dull finish

c’était la guerre: French, “it was the war.”

 

pg.91

specular: mirror-like

agnate: related, allied

auteur –author, related to Truffaut’s “auteur theory” of film, where the director is the true author

samizdat:  Russian, underground press, government-banned publication, pertaining specifically to the book it refers to “the Entertainment.”

 

pg. 92

“Personnes Qui On Doit”:  those who must, Quebecois phrase

“jeune-fille-de-Vendredi: literally young girl of Friday, Quebecois phrase

double-amanuensis:  cross between a double agent and a stenographer

 

 

pg. 93

Ward and June: name of the boy’s hamsters, ref. to “Leave it To Beaver”, where the parents are named Ward and June Cleaver.

pedalferrous:  literally, “iron-foot”, neologism

fulvous: dull yellow

verdant: green

teratogenic: causing mutations in the embryo or fetus

 

pg. 94

grippe: influenza

 

pg. 97

The Incster; the Halster; Halorama; Halation:  nicknames given to Hal Incandenza by his fellow Enfield classmates.

Halation: “a halo-shaped exposure pattern around light sources seen on chemical film at low speeds” pg 97.

Digitate: divided into parts resembling fingers.

Tortolitas: a mountain range near Tucson, Arizona.

E.T.A: the Enfield Tennis Academy.

 

pg. 98

18-and-Unders: a grouping of tennis players of the age 18 or younger.      

14-and-Unders: a grouping of tennis players of the age 14 or younger.

Big Buddy System: an elder student at the Enfield Tennis Academy, usually in the 18-and-Under category but sometimes in the 16-and-Under, mentors younger students 14 and younger.

Y.D.A.U.: Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

R.A.:   Resident Advisor.

16-and-Unders: a grouping of tennis players of the age 16 or younger.

PG.M. challenge matches: nightly matches at the Enfield Tennis Academy to determine internal ranking.

Little Buddies: younger ETA students who are mentored by elder students.

L.B.:   Little Buddies.

Ephebe: among the Greeks, a young citizen between 18 and 20…thus early manhood.

13-15s: of tennis players between the ages of 13 and 15.

 

pg. 99

C.T.: Charles Tavis.

Incomings:  prospective students to the Enfield Tennis Academy.

Big B: Big Buddy.

Thoracic: of, or pertaining to, the thorax.

Atavistically: of, or pertaining to, a distant ancestor.

Lemon Pledge: a dish cleaning detergent.

UV-rating 40+: a rating of protection against ultraviolet radiation 40 times greater than the human skin.

 

pg. 100

Jr. player: an amateur tennis player

Shoe-and-shirt tans: a tan which only covers the face, forearms, and legs between a person’s shorts and his socks

“The Darkness”:  nickname for Ortho Stice

unit:  nickname for male genitalia

 

pg. 101

Umbrian: an inhabitant or native of Umbria, a province of Italy.

N.E.: New England.

Pima-tribe: A North American Indian people living chiefly along the Gila and Salt rivers in Arizona.

Brylcreemed: gelled, taken from the product name Brylcreem, an English hair gel.

Visine: an eye drop that reduces irritation.

Dunlop: a sporting goods company.

 

pg. 102

1900: military time for 7 pm.

R and R: Rest and Relaxation.

Johnny Mathis’s “Chances Are”: a popular song by an American pop singer.

Interdependence Day Eve: the night before the annular celebration of the founding of the Organization of North American Nations.

Flubbaflubba: a word resembling the sound made by a “raspberry” with the mouth.

The Gala: the Interdependence day celebration.

 

pg. 103

Luther: Martin Luther.

Crohn’s Disease: “chronic inflammation of the terminal ileum and adjacent tissues, named in dubious honor of a Dr. Crohn in B.S. 1932” pg. 995.

Ulcerative-colitic: suffering from both ulcers and the inflammation of the colon

Carminative: having the nature of expelling flatulence.

A-squads: the best tennis players at ETA make this elite squad.

Port Washington:  the Port Washington Tennis Academy on Long Island, New York.

 

pg. 104

The Show: the Association of Tennis Professional’s tour.

GauzeTex: a brand name of medical gauze.

Peemster; Pemurama:  nicknames given to Pemuris.

 

 

 

pg. 104

“What the hail is that supposed to mean?”: a play on both the word “hell” and the Nazi salute “heil.”

Tristan and Isolde; Lancelot and what’s-her-name (Guinevere); Agamemnon and Helen (really Menelaus or Paris); Dante and Beatrice; Narcissus and Echo; Kierkegaard and Regina; Kafka and that poor girl afraid to go to the postbox for the mail:  men who did great things from the inspiration of women they loved.

B.S.S.:  Bureau des Services sans Spécificité, French for Office of Unspecified Services.

 

pg. 106

Dardanelles: the strait between Asia Minor and Europe.

O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.

A.F.R.: Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollent; aka Wheelchair Assassins.

Nonspecificity: Office of Unspecified Services.

 

pg. 107

M.:  Monsieur

 

pg. 108

The Entertainment: the entertainment cartridge that killed the medical attaché and nineteen others.

Technical interviews: “professional euphemism for involuntary interrogation, either w/ or w/o physical inducements.” pg 995

Creosote: A colorless oily liquid, of complex composition, with odor like that of smoked meat, and burning taste, obtained from the distillation of wood-tar, and having powerful antiseptic properties; discovered by Reichenbach in 1832.

Crepuscular: of or pertaining to twilight.

“Oh Say, Land of the Free”:  either a poor translation of the American national anthem from French or  the ONAN national anthem

 

pg. 109

Quonsets - a kind of prefabricated building consisting of a semi-cylindrical corrugated metal roof on a bolted steel foundation. (OED)

V.R.:   Viewing Room

High-definition:   on a monitor, a large amount of pixels in a square inch that allows for better definition

TP:   teleputer, displays “cartridges” of films, entertainments, etc.

 

pg. 110

Interlace, Tatsuoka, SyberVision:  corporations that make entertainment cartridges and teleputers.

Stan Smith:  American tennis star.

Stenciled W:  the trademark symbol of the Wilson sporting goods corporation

En-pointe:  a ballet move in which the dancer balances on his or her toes.

Ready Stance:  the neutral stance in tennis in which  the player is ready to move in any direction.

 

pg. 111

Mr.-Bouncety-Bounce-Program”-brand bow-biters: a product name for shoelace locks that keep laces tied, usually used by children too young to know how to tie their own shoes.

A.T.P.: Association of Tennis Professionals.

Lettermen:  male varsity athletes.

ONANCAA: Organization of North American Nations Collegiate Athletics Association.

ENT: Ear, Nose and Throat.

Adenoids: glands.

 

pg. 112

“Freer beat me 4 and 2 in the quarters of the US Clays…”:  In tennis terms, Freer won his match against Hal 4 games to 2 games in the quarterfinals of the US championships on clay courts.

B-squad: the lesser of the two squads at ETA, where those not fit for A-squad end up.

Slots: ranking units.

E Unibus Pluram: Latin phrase meaning “out of one, many”, a play on the US motto E Plurabis Unam.

Mrs. Clarke: runs the kitchen at ETA.

Singles: a tennis match with only two competitors.

 

pg. 113

Solipsism: The view or theory that self is the only object of real knowledge or the only thing really existent.

“The Port Washington Meet. I.D. Day. The Tucson WhataBurger…”: tennis tournaments.

I.D. Day:  Interdependence Day.

WhataBurger: a fast-food corporation.

Pro-forma: as a matter of form.

 

pg. 114

Australia: an Australian tennis tournament.

The Lung: a temporary shelter supported by ventilated air used at ETA for winter practices.

Kodiak: a brand of chewing tobacco.

B. Hope: Bob Hope, slang for marijuana.

 

pg. 115

Father & Son Market: a supermarket in Enfield.

Murine: a brand of eye disinfectant.

Indian-style: sitting with legs crossed.

Show-caliber: worthy of the professional tour.

Geronimo!:  a cry given before jumping.

 

pg. 116

Banzai!:  a cry given before jumping.

 

pg. 117

Fiveski: five dollars.

Ante, pot:  the initial bet while gambling.

Clubby Jack and spade Queen: the jack of clubs and queen of spades.

Bicuspid: A premolar tooth.

Basal recessions: small recessions between each tooth.

Particulates: food and bacteria stuck between teeth.

Kleenex: a brand of facial tissue, a slang term for all facial tissues.

CPS: Centralized Processing Service.

 

pg. 118

Q&A: Question and Answer.

Droogies: slang for friends.

Kertwanging: tennis slang for cheating, mainly calling balls out when they are in.

 

pg. 119

BB: Big Buddy.

Mein kinder: German for “my children.”

 

pg. 120

Still-water depth:  takeoff of the phrase “still waters run deep”, noting intelligence.

Guilloche: An ornament in the form of two or more bands or strings twisting over each other, so as to repeat the same figure, in a continued series, by the spiral returning of the bands.

A la contraire: French for “on the contrary.”

Double or Nothing: a gambling term for attempting to double the pot or lose everything.

Ob/Gyn: Obstetrician/Gynecologist.

 

pg. 121

East Newton: a town near Enfield.

Empire Waste Displacement: a waste disposal corporation.

Displacement vehicle: a capsule of garbage being transported to the Great Concavity

U.S.S. Millicent Kent: the nickname of a teenage tennis student at ETA, playing on her large size like a ship.

 

pg. 122

Penn 5:  a brand of tennis balls.

Scotch-tape: a brand of clear adhesive tape.

Loofa sponge: a brittle kind of sponge used for bathing.

U.S.S.M.K.K.: USS Millicent Kent.

Husky VI-brand telescoping tripod: a brand of camera or telescope steadying tripod.

pan head: rotational platform to aid in the moving of a camera for pans and sweeps.

cable release: allows a camera to be used from a distance using a handheld shutter release.

 

pg. 123

Betty Stove/Venus Williams: American tennis stars.

Montclair NJ: an affluent suburb of New York City.

TL and SL: models of Husky tripods.

360º pan head: a rotational platform that allows a camera to rotate in a complete circle.

180ºpan head: a rotational platform that allows a camera to rotate in a half circle.

Old Man: Millicent Kent’s father.

Con-Edison: the energy company that supplies the New York City metro area.

 

pg. 124

Ice Capades: a touring figure skating show.

USTA Jr: United States Tennis Association for Juniors.

Passaic NJ: a suburb of New York City.

Capering, pirouetting, rondelling, simpering: dance maneuvers.

Girl’s yin-yang: slang for female genitalia.

 

pg. 125

Mrs. K: Millicent Kent’s mother.

Titian: an artist of the Venetian school.

Met’s High Renaissance Wing: the wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City devoted to Renaissance art.

Velcro: a brand of fastener that utilizes thousands of tiny hooks and loops.

 

pg. 126

FLQ: Fronte de la Liberation de la Quebec, “rather a younger and rowdier and less implacably businesslike cell that the AFR, and symbolically adopting certain cultural customs, musics and motifs associated with Hawaii, supposedly an ironic nod to the idea that Quebec is now, too, a kind of annex or territory of the US, a Canadian province only on paper, and separated from its real captor-nation by distances of space and culture that are unabridgeable” (pg 995).

Les salles de danser: French for “ballroom.”

Val d’Or, Quebec: a city in Quebec.

Ventricular restenosis:  “the progressive asymmetrical narrowing of one or more cardiac sinuses; can be either atherosclerotic or neoplastic; rare before continental Interdependence; now the third-leading cause of death among adults of Quebec and New Brunswick and the seventh among adults of the Northeastern USA; associated with chronic low-level exposure to 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzo-P-Di- and Trioxin compounds” (pg 995).

 

pg. 127

M. Fortier and M. Broullime: other operatives in the AFR.

 

pg. 128

DEUS PROVIDEBIT: Latin for “God will provide.”

Day-Glo: a brand name for a bright color that seems to glow in the light.

Spandex: a brand of skintight, elastic clothing used for athletics.

Yrstruly: yours truly, slang for “myself.”

C: Bobby C, petty criminal.

AM: morning.

Harvard Squar: Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Cape: Cape Cod.

On The House: free.

 

pg. 128

crewed: slang for criminal activity.

 

pg. 129

elemonade: slang term for to eliminate.

slope: slang.

eat no cheese: slang.

cop: slang for to take, steal.

Bow & Arrow: bar in Boston, possibly predominantly frequented by homosexuals.

Redline: name of a set of stops on the Boston subway.

Big Boot 8.8: ?

Virus: slang term for HIV.

 

pg. 130

minus works: slang.

Dopesick: slang.

feather snake: a feather boa.

 

pg. 131

p-dope: slang description of street drugs.

Redi Rok crack: slang description of crack cocaine.

Manitol: slang term for low quality drugs.

Kwai9: slang term for low quality drugs.

Like bundles: slang.

Dopeslaps: to attack.

Shivers: sign of drug withdrawal.

Tstop: a subway stop on the Boston subway.

 

pg. 133

quot tea: ?

jones: term given to symptoms of drug withdrawal.

rickytick: ?

 

pg. 134

Hotshots: contaminated drugs e.g. with drano.

 

pg. 135

Kicking the Bird: slang term for withdrawal

 

pg. 137

Displacement: term given to the waste disposal system of the near future.

Separatism: General term given to anti-Organization of North American Nations thought.

E-Tier: ?

 

pg. 138

mythopoeia:  to create a myth.

S.A.S: Substance Abuse Services.

Yushityu 2007 Mimetic Resolution-Cartridge-View-Motherboard-Easy-To-Install Upgrade For Infernatron/InterLace TP Systems For Home, Office or Mobile: ( pg. 995).

 

pg. 140

EndtransINTCOM626: apparent TP jargon.

 

pg. 141

B.S.: Before Subsidization.

Mirandized: to be read one’s Miranda Rights. “You have the right to remain silent…”

 

pg. 142

Amines: abbreviation for methamphetamines.

 

pg.143

O.N.A.N: Organization of North American Nations.

R.C.M.P.: Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

U.S.O.U.S.: United States Office of Unspecified Services.

Fils: French for son.

Homuncular:  as, of, or pertaining to the homunculus, a small completely formed human being once thought to be responsible for all of human reproduction.

 

pg. 145

Straw Boater and Cane: ?

Demand Curve: Standard Economic model of consumer demand for product as a function of asking price.

Freddie-Mac Fund: reference to Fred MacMurrary, American actor who played widower Steven Douglas on the television show, “My  Three Sons.”

 

pg. 146

gumlet: ?

 

pg. 147

G.T.E: General Telephone and Electronics Corp.

 

pg. 150

Ludditism:  school of thought based on the rejection of modern technology named after Ned Ludd.

6²: 6 squared (36).

 

pg. 151

NoCoat Lingua Scrapers: product of the future, tongue scrapers.                            O.N.A.N.T.A.: Organization of North American Nations Tennis Associations        Enf.T.A.: Enfield Tennis Academy.

pg. 152

GC/MS: urine test for banned substances at E.T.A. See footnote 52 (996).

 

pg. 153

Yarmouth Sail: Yarmouth is a type of boat.

TE OCCIDERE POSSUNT: translated earlier in text completely.

f/x: effects.

Bolex: camera brand name.

 

pg. 154

Escathonic:  “Eschaton is a real-participant and tennis-court modified version of the EndStat© ROM-run nuclear conflagration game” (pg. 996).

Stanford-Binet:  Standardized test administered at E.T.A.

Grammars: “Prescriptive Grammar (Grade 10), Descriptive Grammar (11), Grammar and Meaning” (pg. 996).  Required grammar classes to be taken at E.T.A.

Soma R.-L.-O Chawaf: Soma Richardson-Levy-O’Byrne Chawaf, teaches “Literature of Discipline” at ETA and acted in Incandenza films. 

 

pg. 155

M.P.: Michael Pemulis.

Ex cathedra:  literally, from the Chair (of Peter).

 

pg. 156

Xerography: technical term for photocopying.

Vade mecumish:  adjectival form of the noun “vade mecum,” a useful reference.

 

pg. 159

Latrodectus mactans:  scientific genus and species name of the Black Widow spider

 

pg.161

errant: deviating, straying.

pronator teres: muscle in forearm near elbow that allows for rotation.

Montclair: 1956 Mercury Montclair, Hal’s grandfather’s car .

mongoloid: having physical features of Mongolians, Asians.

 

pg.162

whorled: coiled, spiraling shape i.e. human fingerprint pattern.

holster: case of leather usually for a pistol which can be attached to a belt, strap, etc.

Club’s staff quarters: Hal’s father’s past abode.

 

pg.163

splayed: spread apart, often clumsily.

aether: personification of the sky or upper air breathed by the Olympians; note: in physics it is a medium that is supposed to pervade all space, including the interiors of solid bodies, with the ability to transmit electromagnetic waves.
tiller: literally a shoot, sprout, or baby tree, seems in this context to refer to one’s son, specifically James Orin Incandenza (Jim)’s son. 

your grandfather: Hal’s great-grandfather, a golfer.  Godfrey Incandenza. 

 

pg.164

J.O.I.  James Orin Incandenza, Himself.

 

pg.165

Senza errori: without error.

Veldt creature: an animal of southern Africa.

 

pg.167

Brandon: Brandon Marlo, actor.

Latrodectus: venomous spider.

Dean: James Dean, actor.

 

pg.168

under the Influence: intoxicated.

USC: University of Southern California.

Brycreem: The very first mass-marketed men's hair product.

Avalon: American singer and movie star.

 

pg.169

Brioni: Italian fashion house that designed suits for movie stars of the 1950’s.

rakish: stylish.

 

pg.170

‘drines: lightweight speed.

Testar: possibly refers to a manufacturing equipment manufacturer.

ATHSCME: air displacement system manufacturers.

Lung: the inflatable dendriurethane dome at E.T.A.

nacelle: streamlined enclosure, balloon-like.

DMZ: powerful hallucinogen.

Para-methoxylated amphetamine:a stimulant.

Anticholinergic: Inhibiting or blocking the physiological action of acetylcholine (neurotransmitter) at a receptor site.

Mescaline:narcotic also known as peyote that is made from mushrooms that grow on cacti native to Mexico and southwest United States.  

MDA: methylenedioxyamphetamine, a hallucinogen similar to ecstasy.

DMA: hallucinogen.

TMA: hallucinogen.

MDMA: ecstasy.

DOM: stimulant.

STP: stimulant.

DMT: hallucinogen.

Ololiuqui: narcotic made from a Mexican climbing plant.

datura: genus of plants that include two that are used as narcotics.

scopolamine: sedative extracted from plants .

Fluothane: an anesthetic.

Butotenine/Jackie-O: hallucinogen.

Ebene: ?

psilocyin: hallucinogen made from a mushroom.

Cylert:used to treat ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

miscegenation: interbreeding, hybridization.

lysergic: compound that induces hallucinations.

muscimoloid: substance with hallucinogenic and narcotic properties.

ontological: department of metaphysics which relates to the being or essence of things.

phenylkylamine:  Possibly a play on several chemical words.  “Amine” is any compound ammonias that contain an NH3 attached to three hydrogens atoms which can be exchanged for alcohol or a positive radical, such as “phenyl.”  “Phenylamine” is an organic dye.

fitviavi: obscure mold that grows only other molds.

LSD: powerful hallucinogen.

Dr.Alan Watts: philosopher, interpreter of Eastern thought i.e. Buddhism.

T.Leary: LSD-advocate.

Madame Psychosis: DMZ, also a cult radio personality on MIT’s radio station

M.I.T.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

pg.171

Eschaton: online space simulation and team action strategy game

Otis P. Lord: ETA student, Michael Pemulis’ Little Brother

Ennet House: detox center.

Troeltsch: student that probably steals Michael Pemulis’ drugs.

Schacht: student with Crohn’s disease, friends with Mario Incandenza

Comm.-Ad: Community and Administration building at ETA

Tilden on Spin: probably a tennis how-to book

Lindistarne: in context, appears to be a brand of carpet.  “Lindisfarne” is a An island off the coast of northeast England near the Scottish border.

 

pg.172

Ball-Hopper: basket like container for tennis balls.

 

pg.173

sobriquet: nickname.

stevedore: someone who unloads cargo.

BBs: Big Buddies.

Schnell: fast.

Himself: Hal’s father.

 

pg.174

phonemes: The smallest phonetic unit in a language.

formants: characteristic pitch of a vowel-sound.

fricatives: consonant formed by the friction of breath.

trochaically: containing trochees (A metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable, as in “season”, or of a long syllable followed by a short syllable).

 

pg.175

c.: circa.

U.S.T.A: United States Tennis Association.

O.N.A.N.T.A: Organization of North American Nations Tennis Association.

 

pg.176

deLint: head prorecter at ETA.

Patricia Montesian: director of Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House.

M.A: Master of Arts.

C.S.A.C: Certified Substance Abuse Counselor.

 

pg.177

Restricted: Ennet House slang.

Gene: Eugenio “Gene” Martinez, Don Gately’s individual counselor and predecessor at Ennet House.

Kemp: elected president of the United States, former pro football player

Limbaugh: elected president of the United States, former radio personality

Formicate: related to ants, ant-like

sphincter: contractile muscular ring by which an orifice (opening) of the body is normally kept closed

Nell: Nell G., resident at Ennet House that complains about someone’s drumming on the table. 

 

pg.178

Diehl: Gavin Diehl,  resident of Ennet House.

Percocet: oxycodone hydrochloride with acetaminophen; narcotic analgesic used as a pain-killer.

Pat: Patricia Montesian.

gauche: tactless.

Minty: Emil Minty,  harassing patient at Ennet House with an orange Mohawk and tattoos.

McDade: Wade McDade, another tattooed, harassing patient at Ennet House.

Fenway: home of the Boston Red Sox.

P.M.: Patricia Montesian.

Chore: what Ennet House residents call their chores.

 

pg.179

septum: wall separating two cavities, in this case of the nose.

Doocy: refers to Tommy Doocey, the harelipped pot dealer who owns snakes.

Mildred: girlfriend of Bruce Green.

 

pg.180

Harriet: Bruce and Mildred’s daughter.

Spur: poor district in Allston, MA where Michael Pemulis originally resided before living at E.T.A.

Clenette: pregnant girl who is friends with Waldene and Reginald.

Thrale girl: Hester Thrale, lives at Ennet house, drives an Alfa Romeo.

 

pg.181

Wichardson, Wonnie: Ron Richardson, petroleum jelly salesman

 

pg.182

Fourier: French mathematician.

apotheosizing: deify, exalt.

entomologist: insect scientist.

Y.D.A.U.: Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

WYYY: MIT radio station.

meatus: opening, passageway usually referring to the body.

sephenoid: possibly a play on  “sphenoid,” meaning  wedge-shaped or  pertaining to the compound bone of the base of the skull, at the roof of the pharynx.

infundibular: funnel shaped.

epiglottal: play on  “epiglottis,” cartilage that prevents food from entering the trachea. 

HQ: headquarters.

corpus callosum: connects the two hemispheres of the brain.

laryngeally: pertaining the larynx (voicebox).

 

pg.183

triptych: split into 3 screens.

Dow: perhaps a play on “Dao,” the basic, eternal principle of the universe that transcends reality and is the source of being, non-being, and change.

O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.

Great Concavity: formerly states in northeastern United States.

coaxial medulla: part of the brain.

 

pg.184

I.M.Pei: modern architect, designed the Pyramide de Louvre etc.

cerebral cortex: The extensive outer layer of gray matter of the brain that controls higher brain functions: sensation, voluntary muscle movement, thought, reasoning, and memory.

Hundt Act: basically states that the FCC maintains fair business in the telecommunications.

P.E.-Dept: Physical Education Department.

EM: electromagnetic.

miasma: noxious atmosphere.

 

pg.185

YYY: MIT’s radio station.

hypogonadism: reduced functioning of glands.

leonine: lion-like.

facies: outward appearance.

acromegalic: A chronic disease of adults marked by enlargement of the bones of the extremities, face, and jaw that is caused by overactivity of the pituitary gland.

hyperkeratosistic: enlargement of the skin.

transuranial: element with atomic number greater than 92.

G.S.L.: graduate student loan.

treillage: trellis-like, latticework.

rostral: curved, beak-like.

S.O.P.: standard operating procedure.

Peterson/Broughton: author of Dreams of Chaos, Visions of Order

Understanding the American Avant-garde Cinema /Comic-Surrealist avant garde film maker.

Dali/Buneal: Surrealist painter/Spanish film maker.

Deren/Hammid: American film author and experimental filmmaker/Czech film maker.

Antonioni: Italian film director.

Tarkovsky: Soviet film director.

Ozu: Japanese film director and writer.

Bresson: French film director.

Sir Herbert Tree: English actor-manager.

Kaelesque: Pauline Kael, film critic for The New Yorker.

Peckinpah: probably Sam Peckinpaugh, American film director parodied by James Incandenza.

De Palma: American film director.

Tarantino: director of Pulp Fiction.

Fellini: Italian film director.

w/r/t: with regard to.

Brutalism: An architectural style of the mid-20th century characterized by massive or monolithic forms, usually of poured concrete and typically unrelieved by exterior decoration.

Found Drama: films by James Incandenza termed conceptually unfilmable.  (pg.989).

annulation: ringlike.

 

pg.186

U-235: isotope of uranium used in weapons.

Baraka: American poet.

piamater: A delicate fibrous and very vascular membrane which forms the innermost of the three meninges enveloping the brain and spinal cord.

sulci: grooves in an organ, body, tissue. 

A.Y.Rickey: architect of MIT’s Union.

vitreally: vitreal, composed of glass.

chiasmae: intercrossing.

parietooccipital sulcus: halo-ish ring at the level of like eaves.

C.F.D.: Cambridge Fire Department.

gyrus: prominent, rounded, elevated convolutions on the surfaces of the cerebral hemispheres.

Pons:a band of nerve fibers in the brain.

oblongata: refers to the medulla, brainstem.

intraparietal: within walls, inside an enclosure.

 

pg.187

FHC: fuel handling cell?

Heathkit: misspelling of  “Healthkit.”

CO: carbon monoxide.

m.: meters.

atrophic: A wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use.

Sclerederma adultorum: a disease of the connective tissue in the body. The skin may change color and hardening may occur.

serodermatotic: “sero” relates to serum, “derm” relates to the skin, “otic” relates to  having a particular condition or disease. 

hydrocephalic: brain disease consisting in an accumulation of  fluid in the cavity of the cranium.

tabescent: wasting away.

chachetic: misspelling of  “cachetic,” having weight loss, wasting of muscle, loss of appetite, and general debility that can occur during a chronic disease.

Brag’s-Diseased: ? possibly disesase resulting from alcohol abuse

carbuncular: red stones.

steatocryptotic: steatocryptosis, dysfunction of the sebaceous glands.

MarinAmat Syndrome: a disorder described in 1918 consisting of closing of the eyelid on chewing or opening the mouth.  Paralysis or spasm of the ipsilateral facial nerve precedes the appearance of this syndrome. 

psoriatic: skin disease characterized by scaly red patches.

scrofulodermic: tuberculosis resulting from skin infection.

steatopygiacs: An extreme accumulation of fat on the buttocks.

Pityriasis Rosea: skin disease accompanied by rash.

U.H.I.D.: Union of the Hideously and Improbably Deformed.

nubbin: small stunted projecting part.

ad-lib: spontaneously.

PR: Public Relations.

subhardronics: hadron, elementary particle which has strong interactions.

 

pg.188

Schtitt: head coach at ETA.

L.A.S.: liberal arts school.

mens-sana: a healthy mind in a healthy body.

ad-valorem: in proportion to the value.

corpore-potis: ?

T: trivium.

Q: quadrivium.

aphotic:not reached by sunlight.

apochromatic:type of lens.

Mrs. Pricket: acted in Incandenza’s films.

Mr. Ogilvie: teaches Intro to Entertainment Studies at ETA.

Mr.Disney R. Leith: “The Dis” teaches ETA’s History of Entertainment I, II.

Ms.Soma Richardson-Levy-O’Byrne-Chawaf:  teaches Literature of Discipline at ETA.

Kant: German philosopher.

 

pg.189

HmH: “ETA moniker for Headmaster’s House.”

C.T.: Charles Tavis.

fantods: fidgets.

leukodermatic: loss of skin pigment.

xanthodantic:  a “xanthodont” has yellow teeth.

pyorrheic: inflammation of the gums.

basilisk: A legendary serpent or dragon with lethal breath and glance.

 

pg.190

peronic: perone, the small bone of the arm or leg, the fibula.

teratoidal: malformed.

phrenologically: shape of skull could determine personality.

suppuratively: pus forming.

acervulus: related to the brain.

diaphoretic: inducing perspiration.

granulomatous: disease that forms sores.

lazarettes: ? a lazaretto is a house for the diseased.

oubliettes: A secret dungeon, access to which was gained only through a trap-door above; often having a secret pit below, into which the prisoner might be precipitated.

kyphotic: hunchback.

lordotic: abnormal curvature of the spine.

pulchritudinous: very beautiful.

Actaeonizing: Actaeon was a young hunter who, having inadvertently observed Artemis while she was bathing, was turned by her into a stag and killed by his own dogs.

Medusoid: relating to Medusa.

macular: discolored spot.

ital: italicized.

vin blanc: white wine.

crosiers: staff with a cross, not sure what food it is in this context.

lager: German beer.

odalisques:concubine.

 

pg.191

Y.D.P.A.H. Year of Dairy Products from the American Heartland.

Bret Ellis: American author of American Psycho.

Van der Rohe: Modernist architect.

M-F: Monday through Friday.

L’Islet: place in Quebec.

Prandial:relating to a meal.

ergotic: disesase caused by a fungus.

varicelliformally: like chicken pox.

sarcoma: malignant tumor of the skin.

Kaposi: a certain type of sarcoma.

 

pg.192

John Wayne: “…the best male player to appear at Enfield Academy in several years.”

Axford: student at ETA.

ficus: tropical trees, shrubs, or climbers.

lycanthropically: the magical ability of a person to assume the characteristics of a wolf.

saurian: lizard-like.

invaginate: to turn inward.

Cushing’s Disease: Cushing's syndrome is a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure of the body's tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol.

Rhinoplasty: nose surgery (plastic).

M.P. Madame Psychosis.

 

pg.193

les batiments sanctifies:  “the holy buildings”, the ETA buildings.

prandial:  of or relating to a meal.

VA:  Department of Veterans Affairs.

 

pg.194

 balletic: characteristic of or resembling or suitable for ballet.

 

pg.195

‘Vette:  Corvette.

aminating needle:  a needle used to combine something (a drug) with ammonia.

shiv:  a knife, razor, or other sharp or pointed implement, especially one used as a weapon.

 

pg.196

AA:  Alcoholics Anonymous.

fantods:  a state of nervous irritability; nervous movements caused by tension; an outburst of emotion; a fit.

LTI:  Long Term Institution.

The Shed:  Unit #5 on the grounds of EMPHH; given this moniker because the catatonics living in Unit #5 seem to be stored there rather than housed.

 

pg.197

mansard roof:  a four-sided roof having a double slope on all sides, with the lower slope much steeper than the upper.

scabrous:  having or covered with scales or small projections and rough to the touch.

Substances:  drugs, most likely illicit drugs i.e. marijuana, DMZ.

Clorets:  brand of gum and mints.

 

pg. 200

D.S.S.: Department of Social Services.

 

pg. 201

unit:  metro Boston slang for “penis.”

E.M.P.H.H.:  Enfield Marine Public Health Hospital.

NA:  Narcotics Anonymous.

CA:  Cocaine Anonymous.

pace:  an expletive in another language besides English (??).

sharing:  talking.

taking somebody’s inventory:  “criticizing that person” ( pg. 201).

 

pg. 202

Recovery Speak:  language and information pertinent to the process of kicking a drug habit at drug treatment facilities of EMPHH.

sporting lint:  metro Boston slang for not having any money.

Eating Cheese:  metro Boston slang for turning informer or betraying an accomplice or secret, synonymous with Squealing, Narcing, Ratting or Ratting Out, etc.

MA:  Massachusetts.

D.E.C.:  Digital Equipment Corporation.

‘Texas Catheter’:  an appliance that is applied over the penis and connected to a drainage bag to collect urine from the bladder.

 

pg.203

stemming:  metro Boston slang for begging or panhandling.

OTC:  over the counter.

O.C. D.:  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Analysis-Paralysis:  idea that “most substance addicted people are also addicted to thinking, meaning they have a compulsive and unhealthy relationship with their own thinking.”

 

pg.204

pisser:  slang for really quite wonderful.

bit:  metro Boston slang for a jail sentence.

 

pg.206

scrofulous: morally degenerate; corrupt .

 

pg.207

Scooter-Puppies:  name bikers like to call themselves but others are not allowed to call them.

w/r/t:  with regards to.

necrotic:  Affected with necrosis; as, necrotic tissue; characterized by, or producing, necrosis, the death of cells or tissues through injury or disease, especially in a localized area of the body.

tatt:  tattoo.

mescaline:  an alkaloid drug, C₁₁H₁₇NO₃, obtained from mescal buttons, which produces hallucinations.

 

pg.208

gestalt: a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts.

 

pg.209

BLTN:  Better Late Than Never, an AA group.

Semper Fi:  forever true.

 

pg. 210

M.D.C.:  Massachusetts Department of Corrections.

Talwin: inexpensive oral narcotic.

 

pg. 211

Five-Man Room:  room which newcomer males reside in at Ennet House.

Rung Bells:  trivial.

DMZ: a powerful hallucinogen.

 

pg.213

Sierpinski gasket:  drawing of gasket done a by a famous artist named Sierpinski.

mullioned:  windows divided by vertical bars or piers usually made of stone.

fenestrated:  having windows; characterized by windows.

philatelic forceps:  forceps used for the collection and study of postage stamps, postmarks, and related materials.

loupe:  a small magnifying glass (usually set in an eyepiece) used by jewelers and watch-makers.

muscimole:  a chemical used mainly as an experimental tool in animal and tissue studies.

lycergide:  lysergic acid diethylamide A centrally acting chemical agent with hallucinogenic properties, may precipitate psychosis, also known as LSD.

methoxy-class hybrids:  possibly refers to “Foxy” or “Foxy Methoxy” the slang term for tryptamines that produce hallucinogenic effects. Drugs included under this group include: silocybin (O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N, N-ethyltryptamine), psilocyn (4-hydroxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine), bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine), alpha-ethltryptamine (AET), diethyltryptamine (DET), dimethyltryptamine (DMT), alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT), 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), and

5-methoxy-N, N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT)-Foxy.  [BC1] 

fitviavi-compounds: possibly a drug made from mold compounds. “Have I mentioned DMZ doesn’t show upon a G.C./M.S? Struck tracked this down off an obscure Digestive-Flora footnote.  It’s the fitviavi-mold base.  If the stuff shows up at all it shows as a slight case of imbalanced yeast.” (pg. 1064)

Ergotics: ergot, the dried sclerotia (a hardened body formed by certain fungi ) of ergot, usually obtained from rye seed and used as a source of several medicinally important alkaloids and as the basic source of lysergic acid.

 

pg. 215

Madame Psychosis:  metro Boston street-name for LSD.

Nuck:  Quebequois.

 

pg. 216

entropot:  hiding place.

contre-pied:  literally in French, to take the opposite course or view, to argue against.  In context, it appears to be a sudden move in the opposite direction, almost like a dance move.

arachnodactylic:  affected by arachnodactyly, a skeletal disorder where the patient has unusually long, thin bones, especially noticeable in the fingers and toes.

 

pg. 218

Halation : a blurring or spreading of light around bright areas on a photographic image; a glow around a bright object on a television screen.

 

pg.222

Material: drugs.

 

pg. 225

Boylston: Boylston Street, which runs through Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

Madame P.: short for Madame Psychosis, radio personality.

Chore Boys: brand name of a kind of pad used to smoke cocaine after it has already been smoked in freebase form.

good panties: also used to smoke the remnants of previously smoked freebase cocaine.

T-stop: rapid transit station in Boston.

real weight: a substantial amount of cocaine, as opposed to residue left over from previous sessions of smoking.

L.D.: Lady Delphina, Joelle van Dyne’s drug dealer.

 

pg. 226

Herald: short for Boston Herald, a local newspaper.

carbuncular: applying to various precious stones of red or fiery color .

P.M.U.K.: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

toddy: beverage in which rum is the principle ingredient.

asperity: harshness or sharpness of temper .

 

pg. 227

A.B.: Artis Baccularatum (Latin: Bachelor of Arts) university degree.

M.J.A.: some sort of degree earned by Helen P. Steeply.

A.B.D.: All-But-Dissertation.

M.I.T.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

K.M.: Karl Marx.

in a cage: addicted to/on drugs(?)

Y.T.S.D.B.: Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar.

 

pg. 228

hand-to-lung: implying that the money Joelle receives from James Incandenza’s trust goes almost exclusively to feeding her drug habit.

avant-gardedly: in an avant-garde manner.

Orals: oral examinations, such as those taken by doctoral students.

 

pg. 229

Material: drugs, in this case presumably cocaine.

anticraze: presumably a fad only among certain non-mainstream intellectual types (?).

optical beloved: favored actress.

Franciscan: the Franciscan Order is also known as the Gray Order because they wear a gray habit; thus in context it refers to a gray bald spot.

retroironic: alluding to some sort of irony that was fashionable in the past (?).

early-Experialist: the early part of some sort of artistic movement.

 

 

pg. 230

Apocalyptic: too much, over-the-top (in reference to makeup).

X: the drug ecstasy.

MDMA: another name for ecstasy.

beta-something: early version, not finalized (used frequently with software).

scopophiliac: one who derives sexual stimulation or pleasure from simply looking, a voyeur.

 

pg. 231

Xtatic: on ecstasy.

paps: breasts.

the Union: short for the Union of the Hideously and Improbably Deformed, of which Joelle van Dyne is ostensibly a member.

eliminate her own map: commit suicide.

bone-box: cranium, skull.

 

pg. 232

À du nous avons foi au poison: French for “To let us have faith in poison.”

re-upped: reauditioned (?) “Up” is slang for happily excited; euphoric.

pre-digital: before the advent of digital technology.

De gustibus non est disputandum: Latin for “Of nothing is disputed.” ?

 

pg. 233

Morris Mini: a type of car.

Great Convexity: what one partygoer mistakenly calls the Great Concavity; also another name for the Great Concavity from the point of view of Canadians. 

Dishmaster: short of the Year of the Whisper-Quiet Maytag Dishwasher

 

pg. 234

phalloneurotic: “phallo” refers to the penis, “neurotic” refers to tendency for excessive anxiety.

EZ-Widers: cigarette paper.

M.A.: Massachusetts.

 

pg. 235

bathetic: sinking, rhetorically.

Too Much Fun: abusing some sort of substance; for Joelle it’s cocaine, for Orin Incandenza it’s “neat bourbon.”

Storrow: Storrow Drive, a road that runs along the Charles River in Boston.

Gleem: brand of toothpaste.

NoCoat scraper: tongue scraper.

NeGram, Monostat, Parapectolin: misspelling of “NegGram,” an antibacterial used to treat infections of the urinary tract; vaginal antifungal used to treat yeast infections; misspelling of “Parepectolin”, used in the treatment of diarrhea. 

 

pg. 236

The Charles: The Charles River, which runs through Boston and Cambridge.

 

pg. 238

S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure.

Reynolds Warp: brand name aluminum foil.

 

pg. 239

YYY: short for WYYY, the M.I.T. radio station on which Joelle (a.k.a. Madame Psychosis) broadcasts her program.

 

 

 

pg. 240

strettoing: probably from the musical term “stretto,” a direction to perform a passage (esp. a final passage) in quicker time, in this context probably meaning that the conversations were becoming more animated.

 

pg. 241

sine wave: a periodically undulating mathematical function that here is used to describe a set of rolling hills.

Sunstrand: possibly Hamilton Sundstrand, The Aerospace Power Company(TM).

 

pg. 242

E.W.D.: Empire Waste Displacement.

A.D.E.: Air Displacement Equipment?).

 

pg. 243

Mesa-Scottsdale: two towns in Arizona.

Micturation: a word describing the type of superstitious behavior associated with trying to maintain a winning streak. (?) Possibly the misspelling of “Micturition,” the noun form of “micturate,” meaning to urinate. 

 

pg. 244

Subject: how Orin refers to his female sexual partners.

 

pg. 245

nonbats: not crazy or insane.

 

pg. 249

P.G.O.A.T.: Prettiest Girl of All Time, a.k.a. Joelle van Dyne a.k.a. Madame Psychosis.

 

pg. 250

Rog: Roger, indicates the receipt of a message. 

 

 

pg. 251

B.P.D.: Boston Police Department.

jabberjaw: chatterbox.

 

pg. 252

Rusk: nickname for some character that helped Avril find a therapist for Hal.

Hard Count Qualies: some sort of qualifying matches at E.T.A. to determine ranking.

 

pg. 257

Himself: Hal’s father, JOI, James Orin Incandenza.

A squads: Comprised of the best tennis players at Enfield Tennis Academy.

Dewlaps: A fold of loose skin hanging from the neck of a person..

Periodontists: The branch of dentistry that deals with the study and treatment of periodontal disease; Periodontist: a dentist specializing in diseases of the gums and other structure surrounding the teeth.

C.P.A.s: Certified Public Accountants .

Luke removes his high-tech targeting helmet: Star Wars reference, alluding to when Luke is training with Obi-Wan Kenobi, honing his mastery of the force, and learning to trust his instincts by blocking electrical sparks with his light saber while blinded by a metallic helmet blocks his vision..

Atavistic: The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.  Thus it might be said that nails, which when cut only grow back, are atavistic.

Coccyges: A small triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans and tailless apes, consisting of several fused rudimentary vertebrae. Also called tailbone. Evidently, this bone is atavistic.

 

 

 

pg. 258

Jonquil-yellow: Jonquil: A widely cultivated ornamental plant (Narcissus jonquilla) native chiefly to southern Europe, having long narrow leaves and short-tubed yellow flowers.

Asphyxiated: Asphyxiate, to bring to a state of asphyxia; to suffocate.

A and B teams: Teams of large sizes are often divided into A and B squads with the premier players competing on the A team and less talented players competing on the B team.

14 and Unders, 16 and Unders, 18 and Unders: Referring to competition among people 14 years of age and under, 16 years of age and under, and 18 years of age under.

Lung: giant inflatable covering for tennis courts.

 

pg. 259

E.T.A: Enfield Tennis Academy.

P.W.T.A: Port Washington Tennis Academy.

odds being 1 in 2²⁷: the footnote refers to drug slang for no good reason.

out the bazoo: Out the wazoo is probably the more traditional phrase, this phrase essentially implies that the PWTA has a lot of indoor courts.

A.T.P.: Association of Tennis Professionals.

O.N.A.N.T.A: Organization of North American Tennis Association.

U.S.T.A: United States Tennis Association.

an Independent⁸⁵: meaning having no academy affiliation.

WhataBurger Invitational: Prestigious tennis invitational for junior players hosted by the WhataBurger corporation.

 

pg. 260

Quantumish: Should be read “quantum-ish” for clarity; quantum, something that can be counted or measured. The idea here is that Hal has made an exceedingly large, or quantumish, jump in his tennis abilities.

competitive explosions: Phrase used to describe a player whose skill level has improved dramatically in a short given period of time.

grown a beak: Phrase that seems to refer to the increased lethality of Hal’s game; he still plays a thinking man’s tennis, but this wording seems to suggest his game is either more aggressive or more effective.

Unforced-Error: Errors in tennis that are solely the fault of the player who commits them; errors not stemming from the play of the opposition.

pecking: Term referring to Hal’s tennis style, in which he’ll rally with the opposition long enough to open up a potential winner.

Go to oxygen during breaks⁸⁶: meaning employing the use of oxygen tanks to assist in breathing.

‘revenant’: One that returns after a lengthy absence; one who returns after death.  In this context, Schtitt calls Hal his revenant because of the transformation in Hal’s game, which was so dramatic that it was as if he had risen from the dead.

 

pg. 261

Pirouette: A full turn of the body on the point of the toe or the ball of the foot in ballet.

The Lungs: covering for tennis courts.

P.W.T.A: Port Washington Tennis Academy.

Tarpaulin: Material, such as waterproofed canvas, used to cover and protect things from moisture.

 

pg. 262

w/o: without.

I-beams: in construction/buildings, the cross-section makes an actual “I” shape. 

WILSON: A company that produces tennis goods such as racquets, clothing, and balls.

P.W.T.A: Port Washington Tennis Academy.

Reticulate: Resembling or forming a net or network.

Hypertonic: Having extreme muscular or arterial tension.

 

pg. 263
E.T.A Nucks: Canadian students at E.T.A.

The Show: Professional tennis, the ATP Tour.

Wilson: Producer of tennis products.

Brand of stick: Brand of tennis racquet.

Head Masters: A type of tennis racquet produced by the Head company.

AMF: Aluminum Head Masters.

Kibitzing: Conversing.

 

pg. 264

Eptest: Opposite of ‘inept’; one who is capable.

Thoracic: of or relating to the chest or thorax; "pectoral organ."

P.W.T.A.: Port Washingont Tennis Academy.

Wilson: A producer of tennis goods.

 

pg. 265

Gamma-9 synthetic strings: The make of strings on an AMF racquet.

Paraboloid logo: Parabola, a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone or by the locus of points equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point not on the line.  Paraboloid refers to the shape of the Dunlop logo.

Dunlop’s Free List⁸⁸: footnote refers to a group of street peddlers selling shiny new Dunlop racquets.

Dunlop: A producer of tennis goods.

Nuck: A Canadian, from Canuck.

WhataBurger Invitational: Prestigious tennis invitational for junior players hosted by the WhataBurger corporation.

Fete: A festival or feast; An elaborate, often outdoor entertainment; An elaborate party.

VAPS: Vector/Angle/Pace/Spin.

Thwaps and pocks: The sounds of tennis.

 

pg. 266

WhataBurger: A company that hosts a tennis invitational.

Effete: Overrefined; effeminate. The opposing team’s athletic wear is without the trappings of masculinity.

Prince: A producer of tennis products.

Reebok: A producer of athletic wear/products.

Dunlop: A producer of tennis goods.

Adidas: A producer of athletic wear/products.

Head Master: A producer of tennis goods

Fila: A producer of athletic wear/products.

Fox: A producer of tennis goods.

NNE: New New England.

Spalding: A producer of tennis goods.

Nike: A producer of athletic wear/products.

Air Stirrup: an ankle brace used to support an ankle that has been damaged.

Kennex: A producer of tennis goods.

Tachani’s Big & Tall: A line of clothing.

Sinn Fein: Political wing of the Irish Republic Army (IRA).

Futzing around: Messing around, doing nothing in particular.

Cruciform: In the position of Jesus on the cross.

Polybutylene: a polymer of butylene; used in lubricants and synthetic rubber.

Crohn’s: A disease that causes inflammation in the small intestine.

 

pg. 267

National Cranio-Facial Pain Foundation: A dental office where Schact interns.

Neurasthenic: A psychological disorder characterized by chronic fatigue and weakness, loss of memory, and generalized aches and pains, formerly thought to result from exhaustion of the nervous system. No longer in scientific use.

’drine dependent: Ephedrine: A white, odorless, powdered or crystalline alkaloid, C₁₀H₁₅NO, isolated from shrubs of the genus Ephedra or made synthetically. It is used in the treatment of allergies and asthma. Dependency on ephedrine.

Preludin/Tenuate: Brands of Ephedrine.

A grunter: A tennis player who grunts audibly with each swing of the racquet.

Lungs: covering for tennis courts.

 

pg. 268

Argot: A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group.

‘couple up’: hitting overhand shots in tennis which are fed to a player off of lobs from the other player in warm-ups.

E.T.A. Lung: A massive material that covers the tennis courts at E.T.A.; it must be inflated, presumably used to shield the players and courts from the elements.

TesTar: A company that perhaps produced the E.T.A Lung.

ATHSCME: Air displacement system manufacturers.

Nacelle: A separate streamlined enclosure on an aircraft for sheltering the crew or cargo or housing an engine.

Gore-Tex: A company traditionally best known for its winter apparel, although in Infinite Jest it appears that the company also produces swatches.

Swatch: A make of a watch; a sample of cloth.

Halo-lithiated: Lithiate, a salt of lithic or uric acid; a urate; presumably the light-generating substance in a light bulb.

Kibitz: to converse; to look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.

Sunstrand grid: presumably a power grid for the E.T.A. lung

 

pg. 269

Gore-Tex: A company traditionally best known for its winter apparel, but which seems to supply the material for the E.T.A. Lung.

AC: Air conditioner.

ATHSCME Exhaust-Flow Effectuator: A device used to circulate air in and out of the E.T.A. Lung.

Inflation: referring to the inflation of the E.T.A. Lung.

Low-lipid: Lipid, any of a group of organic compounds, including the fats, oils, waxes, sterols, and triglycerides, that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents, are oily to the touch, and together with carbohydrates and proteins constitute the principal structural material of living cells.

 

pg. 270

Visine: eye drops often used to hide the evidence of marijuana in a person’s eyes.

Erumpent: Bursting through or as if through a surface or covering.

The Boards: Standardized tests such as the SATs or SAT 2s.

Left-handed top: Referring to the spin put on the ball by a tennis player.

Goodwill: A chain of stores that collect and sell used clothing and goods at cheap prices for the less well-to-do.

 

pg. 271

Yutzes: perhaps a word that can be used interchangeably with ‘putz;’ a word used to refer to others in a disdainful but distant and unconcerned way.

Gratitude-Ups: exercises in gratitude, a play on the idea of chin-ups, an exercise.

InterLace: A computer goods and products company.

Norman Rockwell: An American illustrator, famous for pictures of ordinary people doing ordinary things in America.

Paul Harvey: Radio commentator for ABC Radio Networks.

 

pg. 272

Dimock Detox: A halfway house.

Nictitated: Nictitate, to wink.

Quaalude: trademark used for the drug methaqualone, a sedative and hypnotic agent.

Saab: Car manufacturer.

The Finest: the police.

Intake: presumably an interview that is conducted when a person first arrives at a halfway house.

“His wiring”: his head, meant to suggest here that his head is a little off, that he is somewhat crazy.

Egregulous: presumably a positive quality.

The Disease: drug addiction.

Chinos: Trousers made of a coarse twilled cotton. Often used in the plural..

Dream Duty: the night shift, workers on Dream Duty are working hours of the night when most patients will be asleep.

Shattuck Shelter: some sort of shelter, perhaps for the homeless.

NA: Narcotics Anonymous.

White Flag Group: A group that sponsors patients in rehab.

 

pg. 273

Brass danglers: brass balls, brass testicles; a colloquialism used to mean holding firm or standing one’s ground in the face of adversity.

Iona: presumably DFW means ‘one iota’; Iota, a very small amount; a bit.

D.E.C.: Digital Equipment Corporation.

Avon: A company that sells beauty products.

“Trauma-mamas,” “bunko artists”: names that refer to types of patients at Ennet House.

Pillow-biters: Homosexuals.

Jonesing: state in which one actively wants drugs.

Head-gaming: perhaps a condition caused by drug withdrawal in which one hallucinates.

Mokus: donkey.

24-7-365: shorthand meaning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

 

pg. 274

The Spider: Phrase Gene uses to refer to the Disease.

Pillow-biters⁹¹: homosexuals.

D.E.C.: Digital Equipment Corporation.

TP: Teleputer.

DMV: Department of Mother Vehicles.

AA: Alcoholics Anonymous.

R.C.: Roman Catholic.

B.S.: Before Subsidization.

 

pg. 275

Morris Code: Presumably he means Morse Code, a system of beeps and blips used to communicate; if he means to say Morris Code, Morris Code was a jazz music group.

Benson & Hedges: A brand of cigarettes.

Tranq-jockeys: Term referring to those addicted to tranquilizers.

Smack-addict: Term referring to those addicted to smack.

 

pg. 276

Garbage-head: a drug addict, one whose mind is affected or altered by the drugs he or she is addicted to.

His map: meaning ‘his mouth.’ (Usually, map refers to face in this book.)

Borderline: presumably referring to one who is not entirely sane or stable.

MP-ish: Military Police-ish.

AA/NA: Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous.

Cesar Romero: An actor who played the Joker in the original Batman television series.

 

pg. 277

The Virus: HIV.

H.I.V.: Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

 

pg. 278

White Flag Group: A group that sponsors patients in rehab.

The Crocodiles: presumably tough-love types who work at Ennet House who remind patients how dire their situations are when they appear to becoming complacent about their recovery.

Polyresin: Resin, any of numerous clear to translucent yellow or brown, solid or semisolid, viscous substances of plant origin, such as copal, rosin, and amber, used principally in lacquers, varnishes, inks, adhesives, synthetic plastics, and pharmaceuticals; presumably meaning multi-colored.

Pince-nez: Eyeglasses clipped to the bridge of the nose.

Grand Mall: a Tonic Clonic seizure.

The Disease: drug addiction.

 

pg. 279

A beef: a disagreement that could lead to fisticuffs or bad blood.

Get bounced: forced to leave.

The Disease: drug addiction.

 

pg. 280

D.T.: delirium tremens.

Unit: penis.

Talwin: Pentazocine, a drug that “alters pain messages in your brain and spinal cord. The preparations with acetaminophen or aspirin in them (Talacen and Talwin Compound) also alter the production of the chemicals that cause pain.”

D.E.C.: Digital Equipment Corporation.

Map: Face, used earlier to mean mouth.

Cesium: A soft, silvery-white ductile metal, liquid at room temperature, the most electropositive and alkaline of the elements, used in photoelectric cells and to catalyze hydrogenation of some organic compounds.

Spiro Agnew: Richard Nixon’s Vice-President until 1973, when Agnew resigned due to charges of tax evasion.

 

pg. 281

Spatterpainting: seems to suggest in context that ETA defeated P.W.T.A. by a wide margin.

V.D.: Victory by Default.

Nystagmic: nystagmus, a rapid, involuntary, oscillatory motion of the eyeball.

Stockhausen: perhaps simply the name of a C team member or perhaps an allusion to Karlheinz Stockhausen, a composer of operas

 

pg. 282

Flatland: A book set in a 2-dimensional world of shapes.

Feeling punk: feeling despondent or simply tired perhaps

Benzoin: A balsamic resin used as a mild stimulant.

Xing: Presumably meaning to have intercourse.

Partner⁹²: Diane Prins.

Pierre Trudeau: Canadian Prime Minister in the 1960s-80s.

 

pg. 283

Denny’s: A fast food chain.

Empire Waste: a store next to Denny’s.

C.U.S.P.: Clean United States Party.

Tumescence: The act of becoming tumid; the state of being swollen; intumescence.

O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.

Prorectors⁹⁴: Those who teach one marginal class each term and serve as on-court assistants to Schtitt’s instructors.

 

pg. 284

Afflatus: A strong creative impulse, especially as a result of divine inspiration.

Deafflatusized: Presumably those who play uninspired tennis at ETA.

Eschatonology: the study of Eschaton, game that ETA students play.

Alka-Seltzer: Used by Orin to combat the hangover left over from his pre-frosh visit to Ohio State.

ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps.

A.P.: Advanced Placement.

C:\Pink₂⁹⁵: Microsoft’s first post-windows DOS.

 

pg. 285

get the hell out of Dodge: meaning to leave town.

A.S.A.: Amateur Sports Association.

Septuagenaric: Septuagenarian, someone between the ages of 70 and 80.

 

pg. 286

L.L. Bean: clothing and outdoor products producer.

Lacoste: clothing producer.

Full Ride: full scholarship covering the entire expense of a college education.

Hitachi: computer goods producer.

Plum: pull factor, attractive factor.

Hiati: plural of hiatus.

Felo de se: suicide.

Y.D.P.A.H.: Year of Dairy Products from the American Heartland

Map: face.

 

pg. 287

M.D.R.: Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

O.N.A.N.T.A: Organization of North American Nations Tennis Association.

U.S.T.A.: United States Tennis Association.

Total Worry: absolute concern and investment in the matter at hand.

Sedulous: Persevering and constant in effort or application; assiduous.

HmH: ETA moniker for Headmaster’s House.

Transom: A horizontal crosspiece over a door or between a door and a window above it; A small hinged window above a door or another window.                            Tenabrae Factae Sunt: presumably a musical piece.                                            sotto v.: under volume?                         O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.               ATHSCME: Air displacement system manufacturers:

pg. 288

O.N.A.N.T.A: Organization of North American Nations Tennis Association.

Kafkan: adjectival form implying similarity to Kafka.

Personal-ablution: a personal washing or cleansing.

Anthracnose: Any of several diseases of plants caused by certain fungi and characterized by dead spots on the leaves, twigs, or fruits.

Green Babies: referring perhaps to the produce in a vegetable garden.

PAC: Pacific Athletic Conference.

Tactical Phalanx (MGMs): Militant Grammarians of Massachusetts.

B.U.: Boston University.

 

 pg. 289

Sisboomba: A shout of expressive of support or encouragement to a college team.

banality: Anything trite or trivial; a commonplace.

 

pg. 290

strabismic: Of, pertaining to, or affected by strabismus, an affection of the eyes in which the axes of vision cannot be coincidently directed to the same object; squinting, a squint.  Or, perversity of intellectual perception

U.H.I.D.: Union of the Hideously and Improbably Deformed.

phylogenic: Of or pertaining to phylogeny, the history or science of evolution or genealogical development in the phylum, tribe, or species; the race history of an animal or vegetable type; tribal history.

transhuman: Beyond the human; superhuman.

ascapartic: possibly refers to “Ascapart,” an enormous giant from rayton’s Polylbion, ii..

elision: The action of dropping out or suppressing:    a. a letter or syllable in pronunciation;    b. a passage in a book or connecting links in discourse.

apical: Pertaining to articulation with, or sounds made by, the tip of the tongue.

zygomatic: Pertaining to or forming part of the zygoma, the bony arch on each side of the skull in vertebrates, consisting of the malar or jugal bone (cheek-bone) and its connections.

HD green: Realtree® Hardwoods™ Green High-definition™; a camouflage pattern. attar: A very fragrant, volatile, essential oil obtained from the petals of the rose.

decoct: To boil down or away; to concentrate by boiling.

KY: Kentucky.

avuncular: Of, belonging to, or resembling, an uncle.

 

pg. 291

dragass: football slang for slow person?

mollygag: ?

bona fried pussy: wimp

dope-slap: a hit or slap made in response to stupidity.

adit: access, entrance, approach

femur: thigh bone

tarsus: a collective name for the seven small bones of the human ankle

 

pg. 292

carom: To strike or glance and rebound.

CNS: Central Nervous System .

carrot: (with allusion to the proverbial method of tempting a donkey to move by dangling a carrot before it) an enticement, a promised or expected reward

Gauloise: A cigarette of a popular French brand.

ephebe: Among the Greeks, a young citizen from eighteen to twenty years of age, during which he was occupied chiefly with garrison duty.

pituitary: Of, pertaining to, or secreting pituita or phlegm; mucous.

draconian: rigorous, harsh, severe, cruel.

 

pg. 293

adductor: A muscle which draws any limb, or part of the body, towards the trunk or main axis, or which folds or closes extended parts of the body.

Eschaton: real-participant and tennis-court modified version of the EndStat® ROM-run nuclear-conflagration game. (p. 996)

preternatural: beyond, surpassing, or differing from what is natural.

factota: football players other than the punter (but from the same team) on the field.

 In mod. sense: A man of all-work; also, a servant who has the entire management of his master's affairs.

 

pg. 294

aegis: A protection, or impregnable defense. Now frequently in senses ‘auspices, control, etc.’, as in phrase “under the ægis of.”

Actaeonizingly: from actæon: To cuckold.

phoneme: phonological unit of language.

monovocal: of one voice, from mono: one, alone, single’, and vocal: Uttered or communicated by the voice; spoken, oral.

S.T.: Special Teams.

Emeritus: the title given to a university professor who has retired from the office.

 

pg. 295

podiatric: concerning the foot.

USMC: United States Marine Corps.

Rolling Thunder: type of player formation for punting in football? [BC2] 

Berthas: loud/grand punts? Possibly reference to the sound of “Big Berthas” which are both a type of golf club and/or to a type of German artillery. 

Dyne-Riney Proton Donor Reagent Corp.: Joelle van Dyne’s father’s business; function unknown?

amniotic: amnion, the innermost membrane enclosing the fetus before birth.

 

pg. 296

K-L-RMKI: Ken-L-Ration-Magnavox-Kemper-Insurance.

Paducah: town in Kentucky.

4WD: four-wheel drive.

kudzu: A perennial climbing plant.

toddies: a beverage composed of whisky or other spirituous liquor with hot water and sugar.

Pyrex:  The proprietary name of a hard, heat-resistant, borosilicate glass.

O.N.A.N.: Organization of North American Nations.

Subsidization: when corporations sponsor a year, which year the sponsor may name, at the end of which year they sell the sponsorship to the highest bidder.

N./O.N.A.N.C.A.A.: N.?/ Organization of North American Nations Collegiate Athletics Association. “N” could possibly refer to both North or to the abbreviation for Southwest Ontario. 

killjoy: That kills or puts an end to joy.

 

pg. 297

MS: Mississippi.

hypertrophied: enlarged by excessive growth.

P.T.s: Physical Therapists.

bitching: cool.

Angenieux: Thales Angenieux, optics company.

 

pg. 298

rheostat: a variable wire-wound resistor used for controlling large currents.

Y.W.: Year of the Whopper.

Storrow 500: Storrow Drive (a road).

Comm.’s hill: the hill of Commonwealth Avenue, a road near ETA.

barney: protective camera covering.

Y.T.M.P.: Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad.

UNH: University of New Hampshire.

chuff: To swell or puff the checks; to work with a regularly repeated sharp puffing sound.

 

pg. 299

Valentine: heart-shape.

supine: Lying on one's back, lying with the face or front upward.

T.: Transit System in Boston (train).

 

pg. 300

scrip: fractional paper currency.

Donegal: The name of a county in the north-west of Ireland; used to designate something produced in or peculiar to the county, esp. a type of tweed.

cadge: To get by begging.

non grata: unwelcome.

Aigner accessory: Etienne Aigner, maker of shoes, bags, accessories.

cop: obtain drugs.

I.B.P.W.D.W.: International Brotherhood of Pier, Wharf, and Dock Workers (pg. 1004).

neuralgiac: characterized by pain, typically stabbing or burning, in the area served by a nerve.

The Wingless Fowl = Turkeyfication = Kicking = The Old Cold Bird: withdrawal from an addictive substance.

 

pg. 301

chignon: A large coil or hump of hair, usually folded round a pad.

habilements: Outfit, accoutrement, equipment, array, attire, dress.

E.W.D.: Empire Waste Displacement.

neurasthenic: neurasthenia, a disorder characterized by feelings of fatigue and lassitude, with vague physical symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, and subjective sensory disturbances, originally attributed to weakness or exhaustion of the nerves and later considered a form of neurotic disorder.

gender-dysphoric: Gender dysphoria, unhappiness with your given sex or sexual identity.

shiva: possibly pertains to Shiva, the destroyer in the Hindu religion.

 

pg. 302

Codinex Plus: cough syrup.

Brooks: pharmacy name.

Bonwit’s: upscale department store.

hubris: pride, excessive self-confidence.

 

pg. 303

Zuckung: German for spasm.

A.F.L.: Armenian Foundation Library.

loo: lavatory.

demethylated: removed a methyl group from.

D.T.: delirium tremens.

 

pg. 304

formicating: crawling like ants.

bilirubin: A reddish pigment, C₃₃H₃₆O₆N₄, occurring in bile.

trundling: rolling.

Old Cold Bird:withdrawal.

Temporal lobes: lowest lobes of the brain.

augur: to divine, forebode, anticipate.

phosphene: An appearance of rings of light produced by pressure on the eyeball, due to irritation of the retina.

 

pg. 305

obstetric: Of or pertaining to a midwife or accoucheur.

dirigible: A dirigible (Capable of being directed or guided) balloon or airship.

tumid: swollen.

vascular: Having the character or properties of a conveying vessel or vessels.

Copley blower: brand of fan or leaf blower.

HQ: Headquarters.

gaffed: speared.

 

pg. 306

Anthracite: a variety of coal.

Annular Fusion: an idea wherein the end step of a nuclear fusion process is the same as the beginning, so the fusion cycle is like a ring. 

batsoid: slang for crazy.

 

pg. 307

Virginia Slims: cigarette brand.

Family Circle: magazine containing recipes, crafts ideas, travel advice, decorating tips, and health and beauty information.

distaff: As the type of women's work or occupation.

Female Objectification Prevention and Protest Phalanx: A Dworkinite heavy-leather organization whose membership on the U.S. East Coast was in the five figures up until the ugly Pizzitola Riots of Providence RI in Y.W.-Q.M.D. discredited the F.O.P.P.P.s, and fragmented them. (pg. 1004)

agoraphobic: suffering from a fear of open places

 

pg. 308

eustacian: part of the ear.

WETA: ETA’s radio station.

fin: five dollars.

I/SPN: InterLace Sports Programming Network.

TP: Teleputer.

joe: coffee.

colitis: inflammation of the colon.

Felo de se: suicide.

Mesomorphic: with a powerful, compact, and muscular build.

 

pg. 309

moonballed: engaged in play predominantly characterized by high lobs.

Cold-Containment DT-annulation: cycles that James Incandenza writes about. (see pgs. 571-572)

Frontenac: French colonial administrator who governed New France (1672-1682 and 1689-1698) and held Quebec against the British in the King William's War (1690).

Pléiade: group of poets of the French Renaissance.

 

pg. 310

P.W.: Port Washington.

thorax: The middle region of the body of an arthropod, between the head and the abdomen.

dentition: teething.

Ursuline nuns: A religious order of nuns, established under the rule of St. Augustine in 1572 from a company founded at Brescia in 1537, for the teaching of girls, nursing of the sick, and the sanctification of the lives of its members.

Wig-and-jerkin: old warfare dress.

SACPOP: Eschaton term. Literally: Strikes Against Civilian Populations. Figuratively: to go "postal."

Saluki-faced: with the face like a large, lightly built hound.

ROM: Read Only Memory.

B.S.: Before Subsidization.

Levesque-Parti-and-Bloc Québecois:. Apparently the Parti Q. is provincial, intra-Québecois; the Bloc’s its federal counterpart, with members in Parliament, and so on and so forth. (pg.1004).

 

pg. 311

parse: To examine or analyze minutely.

Gerrymander: To manipulate in order to gain an unfair advantage.

Great Convexity: Great Concavity, from the perspective of Canada.

F.L.N.: Fronte de la Libération Nationale.

Anschluss: Annexation or union.

Whinged: Hal’s term, actually an Incandenza-family term, actually not inappropriate here because like most Incandenza-family terms put into family usage by Avril, who’s an expatriate Québecer, whinge is some east-Canadian idiom for vigorous high-pitched complaining, almost like whining except with a semantic tinge of legitimacy to do the complaint. (p.1022)

Lucite: A proprietary name for a solid, transparent plastic.

Hi-Test flame: high performance gasoline additive

 

pg. 312

Amway: company that owns products such as: Nutrilite TM Vitamins and Food Supplements, ArtistryTM Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics, eSpringTM System, Magna Bloc TM Therapeutic Magnets, and SA8TM Laundry System.

gland-static: physical effect of pregnancy?

pica: a perverted craving for substances unfit for food, as chalk, etc., symptomatic of certain diseases, and also occurring during pregnancy.

Vermeer: Dutch painter (1632-1675).

snafu: A confusion or mix-up.

 

pg. 313

oculist: physician or surgeon who treats diseases and affections of the eye.

Glad¹¹⁴:The Glad Flaccid Receptacle Corporation, Zanesville OH, sponsor of the very last year of O.N.A.N.ite Subsidized Time... (pg.1022).

saguaro: A large branching cactus found in desert regions of southwestern North America.

bradyauxetic: “refers to some part(s) of the body not growing as fast as the other parts of the body.” (pg.1022)

Volkmann’s contracture ¹¹⁵: “some kind of severe serpentine deformation of the arms following a fracture that hadn’t been set right or splinted or where the arm’s been allowed to stay all woundedly bent in as it heals.” (pg.1022)

Familial-dysautonomically: “familial,” occurring among members of a family; hereditary; “dys,” faulty, difficult, bad; “autonomical,” pertaining to the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary functions).

viselike: similar looking to a “vise,” A clamping device, usually consisting of two jaws closed or opened by a screw or lever, used in carpentry or metalworking to hold a piece in position.

Bradypedestrianism: slow moving.

lordosis: Anterior curvature of the spine, producing convexity in front

             

pg. 314

recalcitrant: obstinately disobedient or refractory.

Blepharoplasty-procedure: the operation of supplying any deficiency caused by wound or lesion of the eyelid .

corticate: made of the nature of bark.

atrophic: characterized by a wasting away of the body.

Arachnodactylism: long, spider-like digits.

mucronate: Terminating in a point.

yarmulke: A skull-cap worn by male Orthodox Jews at all times, and by other male Jews on religious occasions.

Stanford-Binet: The names of Stanford University and Alfred Binet, used to designate the revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence tests undertaken by L. M. Terman and first published in 1916, which established the concept of an intelligence quotient.

C.D.C.: Centers for Disease Control.

bradyphrenic: brandyphenia, practical-problem-solving-type thinking.

epistemically: Of or relating to knowledge or degree of acceptance.

U.S.T.A.: United States Tennis Association.

 

pg. 315

pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas.

chiaroscuro: The style of pictorial art in which only the light and shade, and not the various colours, are represented.

NNYC: New New York City.

Marino: brand of lamp used for filming?

key-light kliegs: Orig., a kind of arc lamp invented for use as a studio light; hence, any powerful electric light used in film-making, or in television.

codicil: A supplement to a will.

Bolex H64 Rex 5¹¹⁶: “Pretty much the BMW of 16mm. digital-cartridge recorders, brought out in limited numbers by Paillard Cinématique of Sherbrooke, Québec, Can…” (pg.1022)

             

pg. 316

À-clef: literally French for “with key,” in context possibly refers to the term “Roman à clef,” a novel in which actual persons, places, or events are depicted in fictional guise.

canted: sloping or slanting.

Comm. Ave.: Commonwealth Avenue, near ETA.

gestalt: A ‘shape’, ‘configuration’, or ‘structure’ which as an object of perception forms a specific whole or unity incapable of expression simply in terms of its parts.

saurian: characteristic of a reptile of the order Sauria .

homodontic¹¹⁹: “…Mario’s a homodont: all his teeth are bicuspids and identical, front and back, not unlike a porpoise…” (pg. 1022).

tangrams: Ancient Chinese moving piece puzzle, consisting of 7 geometric shapes.

 

pg. 317

O.E.D.: The Oxford English Dictionary.

bicuspid: A premolar tooth in man.

Eidetic: Applied to an image that revives an optical impression with hallucinatory clearness, or to the faculty of seeing such images, or to a person having this faculty.

HmH: “ETA moniker for Headmaster’s House.”

legate:  An ambassador, delegate, messenger.

 

pg. 318

l’aine des Etats Unis: the groin of the United States.

samizdat: Note 110. “…Russian compound noun.  Soviet twentieth-century idiom.  Sam—stem: “self”; izdat—undeclined verb: “to publish.” I think the literal denotation’s technically archaic: the sub-rosa dissemination of politically charged materials that were banned when the Eschaton-era Kremlin was going around banning things.  Connotatively, the generic meaning now is any sort of politically underground or beyond-the-pale press or the stuff published thereby.  There’s no real samizdat in the U.S. per se, First Amendment-wise, I don’t think.  I suppose ultra-radical Québecois and Albertan stuff could be considered O.N.A.N.ite samizdat.” (pg. 1011)

 

pg. 319

B.S.S.: Bureau des Services sans Spécificité, French for Office of Unspecified Services.

paisano: In Spanish-speaking areas: a fellow-countryman; a peasant.

Les Fils: Fils de Montcalm, Québec separatist organization.

A.F.R.: Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollent; aka Wheelchair Assassins.

razzle: razzle-dazzle, used to express the ideas of bewilderment or confusion, rapid stir and bustle, excitement; also, deception, fraud.

Un ennemi commun: a common enemy.

 

pg. 320

L’état protecteur: the protective State.

eugenics: Pertaining or adapted to the production of fine offspring, especially in the human race.

coruscating: glittering, sparkling.

nacreous: Pearly or iridescent like nacre.

           

           

pg. 321

Gaudeamus Igitur: trans. therefore, let us rejoices.

 

pg. 322

Eschaton: (a word of Greek origin meaning the end, the last) the game of global nuclear war played at E.T.A. annually on Interdependence Day, “Eschaton is the most complicated children’s game anybody around E.T.A.’d ever heard of.”
Puerile: juvenile, immature.

Vade-mecum: a handbook or guidebook.

Y.P.W.: Year of the Perdue Wonderchicken.

Applied Game Theory: a branch of mathematics, operational research, or economics that seeks to analyzes interactions and behaviors within formalized structures “games” as to formulate optimal strategies.

Luger: The preferred sidearm of German soldiers in the Second World War.

Anschluss: annexation or union, specifically of Austria to Germany in 1938.
AMNAT: America and NATO?

REDCHI: People’s Republic of China or Red China?

SOVWAR: Soviet Union or Soviet Union and Warsaw?

LIBSYR: Libya and Syria (?)

IRLBSYR: Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Syria(?)
SOUTHAF: South Africa(?)
INDPAK: India and Pakistan(?)

Howitzer: A relatively short, lightweight cannon that delivers shells at a medium muzzle velocity, usually by a high trajectory.

 

pg. 323

Dürer, Albrecht (1471-1528): Hungarian painter.

B2: a two person, high subsonic bomber made by Boeing.

SS5: Fictional bomber(?).

MAMAs: Major Metro Areas.

CONFORCONs: Conventional-Force Concentrations.

SSTRACs: Sites of Strategic Importance.

MILABBREVs: Merritt Island Launch Annex (NASA) Abbreviations.

Mean-Value Theorem for Integrals: explained by Michael Pemulis in Note 123, (pg. 1023). Let f(x) be continuous on the closed interval [a,b] and differentiable on the open interval (a,b). Then there is a point c in the interval (a,b) where                                     f '(c) =  {f(b) - f(a)}/ (b-a).

 

pg. 324

Paraboloid: conical.

Metastasizes: to destructively spread, transform, or change.

EM-pulse: Electromagnetic Pulse.

MIRVs: Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles.

SPASEX: Spasm Exchanges.

SACPOP: Strikes against Civilian Populations.

INDDIR: Infliction of Death, Destruction, and Incapacitation of Response.

SUFDDIR: Suffering of Death, Destruction, and Incapacitation of Response?

Baroque: extravagant, complex, bizarre, irregular.

Quorum: The minimal number of officers and members of a committee or organization, usually a majority, who must be present for valid transaction of business.

 

pg. 325

DEFCON: Defense Readiness Condition.

DEFCON 5 Normal peacetime readiness.

DEFCON 4 Normal, increased intelligence and strengthened security measures .

DEFCON 3 Increase in force readiness above normal readiness .

DEFCON 2 Further Increase in force readiness, but less than maximum readiness .

DEFCON 1 Maximum force readiness.

Stolichnaya: brand of vodka.

El Al: Israeli airline.

Aleutians: archipelago off Alaskan coast.

Labrador: mainland territory of Newfoundland, Canada.

Volgograd: a city of southwest Russia on the Volga River.

Sakhalin: island southeast of Russia and north of Hokkaido, Japan.

 

pg. 326

MiG25s: Russian high altitude interceptor/reconnaissance aircraft.

Abu Kenal: misspelling of Abu Kanal, city located in Turkey.

Damascus: capital of Syria .

En Nebk: Syrian city.

Haifa: northwestern Israeli city.

Ashqelon: southwestern Israeli city.

Tripoli: a city of northwest Lebanon on the Mediterranean Sea

Tunisia: a country of northern Africa bordering on the Mediterranean Sea.

Ostrava: a city of northeast Czech Republic.

Tientisn: a city of northeast China.

 

pg. 327

Atavistic: The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

Thanatoptic: concerning a view or contemplation on death.

Talmudic: (not quite sure, the dictionary gives a definition concerning a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings that constitute the basis of Orthodox Judaism.

Staid: sedate dignity and often a strait-laced sense of propriety.

Portcullis: a grating of iron or wooden bars or slats, suspended in the gateway of a fortified place and lowered to block passage.

Gatorade: a brand of sports drink.

Kazakh: a landlocked republic south of Russia and northeast of the Caspian Sea.

Enfilade: gunfire directed along the length of a target.

Beersheba: a city of southern Israel southwest of Jerusalem.

Kibitz: to look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.

 

 

pg. 328

Strontium-90: a radioactive isotope of strontium that is present in the fallout from nuclear explosions; can be assimilated like calcium into bones.

 

pg. 329

Microcephalic: having or relating to abnormal smallness of the head.

Tenuate: over-the-counter appetite-suppressant.

Nystagmic: A rapid, involuntary, oscillatory motion of the eyeball.

 

pg. 330

Roentgen: a unit of radiation exposure equal to the quantity of ionizing radiation that will produce one electrostatic unit of electricity in one cubic centimeter of dry air at 0°C and standard atmospheric pressure.

Minsk: the capital and largest city in Belarus, a country of Eastern Europe, east of Poland and west of Russia.

Belorussian: of or relating to the Belarus region.

Endomorphic: having a squat and fleshy build, fat.

Gloucester: a town in northeastern Massachusetts.

 

pg. 331

finski: five dollar bill.

Imam’d: “iman,” is a male prayer leader in a mosque.

SJOG: Saint John’s of God.

Bellicosity: warlike in manner or temperament.

 

pg. 332
duBois: slang for a marijuana cigarette.

Sierra Leone: a country of western Africa on the Atlantic coast.

 

 

 

pg. 333

Karachi: a city of southern Pakistan on the Arabian Sea.

Verisimilitude: the quality of appearing to be true or real.

Dysenteric: An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.

 

pg. 334

Kertwang: insult?

El Greco (1541-1614): Greek-born Spanish painter of religious works.

 

pg. 335

Rossignol: brand of tennis racket.

 

pg. 336

Toltec: a people of central and southern Mexico whose empire flourished from the 10th century until it collapsed under invasion by the Aztecs in the 12th century.

Invectives: Denunciatory or abusive language.

 

pg. 337

Charleston: a fast ballroom dance in 4/4 time, popular during the 1920s.

Abu Kemal: misspelling of Abu Kamal in Turkey.

Es Suweida: town in southern Syria.

Vacillation: to sway from one side to the other in movement or opinion.

 

pg. 338

Axiomatic: of, relating to, or resembling an axiom; self-evident.

 

pg. 339

Kodiak: brand of a chewing tobacco.

 

Pg. 340

Calliopsis: a North American annual plant widely cultivated for its showy flower heads with yellow rays and purple-red to brownish centers.

 

pg. 341

Nunhagen: brand of aspirin.

Accreting: to grow together; fuse.

 

pg. 342

Terminus: the final point; the end.

 

pg. 343

Group: AA chapters, “each Group has its particular Group name like the Reality Group or the Allston Group or the Clean and Sober Group…”

Commitment: “Commitments are where some members of one Group commit to hit the road and travel to another Group’s meeting to speak publicly from the podium.”

 

pg. 344
Giving It Away: “A cardinal Boston AA Principle”, Giving It Away refers to the act of speaking at these Commitments.

Epigrammatic: of or having the nature of an epigram, a concise, clever, often paradoxical statement; a saying or quip.

Coming In: attending AA, “’Coming In’ means admitting that your personal ass is kicked and tottering into Boston AA, ready to go to any lengths to stop the shit storm”.

 

pg. 345

Identification: group empathy for the speaker at AA.

Losses: negative physiological consequences of substance abuse.

 

pg. 346

Peritonitis: inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity.

Cirrhotic neuralgia: acute pain as a result of inflammation in the liver.

Neuropathy: a disease or abnormality of the nervous system.

Nephritis: any of various acute or chronic inflammations of the kidneys, such as Bright's disease.

 

pg. 347

Face In The Floor: “The Grinning root-white face of your worst nightmares, and the face is your own face in the mirror, now, it’s you…”

pg. 348

Balaclavan: Referring to Balaclava, a section of the city of Sevastopol in the Crimea of southern Ukraine. During the Crimean War Balaklava became famous for the doomed charge ofthe British Light Brigade against heavy Russian fire. Could possibly mean a massacre.

Prognathous: having jaws that project forward to a marked degree.

Arbitrage: The purchase of securities on one market for immediate resale on another market in order to profit from a price discrepancy.

Unitarian: one who denies the doctrine of the Trinity, believing that God exists only in one person.

 

pg. 349

Nonuremic: the lack of accumulation in the blood of waste products (urea) that are usually excreted in the urine.

 

pg. 350

Beatific: showing or producing exalted joy or blessedness.

 

 

pg. 352

Enuresis: the uncontrolled or involuntary discharge of urine.

Priapism: persistent, usually painful erection of the penis, especially as a consequence of disease and not related to sexual arousal.

Onanism: masturbation.

Birchism: a member or supporter of the John Birch Society, an anti-Communist organization founded in 1958.

Candelabrum: a large decorative candlestick having several arms or branches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annotations

Pg. 353-704

 

 

 

Pg. 353

AA: Alcoholics Anonymous.

Lobotomized: having to do with the surgical severance of nerve fibers connecting the frontal lobes to the thalamus for the relief of some mental disorder.

Vitriol: a sulfate of any of various metals (as copper, iron, or zinc); especially : a glassy hydrate of such a sulfate.

Orevwar: phonetic approximation of au revoir, which is French for “see you soon.”

Fremitic: perhaps having to do with fremitus,  a. A dull roaring noise.    b. Path. A palpable vibration or thrill, e.g. of the walls of the chest. (OED)

 

Pg. 354

Magisculed: perhaps related to majuscule, which suggests the action of writing or affixing large letters or capitals across the bottom of the photo; refer to text.

Varicose: abnormally swollen or dilated.

Shamanistic: having to do with Shamanism, a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits.

Fiat: an authoritative determination.

 

Pg. 355

D.T.ing: denoting a manner characteristic of the disorder delirium tremens, a violent delirium with tremors that is induced by excessive and prolonged use of alcoholic liquors.

MCI-Walpole: Massachusetts Correctional Institution Walpole, a maximum security prison.

 

Pg. 356

Sub-rosa: secretive, private.

 

Pg. 357

Eugenio Martinez: Done Gately’s individual counselor and predecesor at Ennet House ; calls addiction «the spider.»

Fibrosis: a condition marked by increase of interstitial fibrous tissue.

Gandhi: Mahatma Ghandi; Indian political and spiritual leader who taught and practiced nonviolent resistance.

Mr. Rogers: Fred Rogers; Children’s television personality.

Diddle: vulgar term, to copulate with.

Pat Montesian: Executive Director, Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House.

 

Pg. 358

Apothegm: a short, pithy, and instructive saying or formulation.

 

Pg. 359

Astringent: suggestive of an astringent effect upon tissue : rigidly severe.

Talwin scrips: urine-based test for Talwin, a potent analgesic.

 

Pg. 360

F.F.G.: Ferocious Francis Gehaney; an old-timer at Ennet House who is Gately’s sponsor; member of the Crocodiles, a group of old recovered alcoholics.

Belmont: city in California.

Yuppie: derived from Young Urban Professional, or YUP; "yuppie" became the natural colloquialisation.  Derogatory 80s term to describe a 'new breed' of young, wealthy people, typically successful in business.

 

Pg. 361

Demerol: meperedine hydrochloride, a type of narcotic analgesic that is addictive, with similar effects to morphine.

 

Pg. 364

Rémy: Remy Martin, a make of Cognac.

Tiparillo: a make of American cigar.

Brigham and Women’s: a hospital in Boston.

O.D.: overdose.

Defib: defibrillator paddles, an electronic device that applies an electric shock to restore the rhythm of a fibrillating heart.

Gasper: British slang for cigarette.

 

Pg. 365

Hubristic: having exaggerated pride or self-confidence.

7-iron on the tenth rough: 7iron- an iron gold club used for a distance of 125-160 yards for men's clubs. Also known as a mashie-niblick.  Rough- long grass areas adjacent to fairway, greens, tee off areas or hazards. (worldgolf.com)

 

Pg. 366

Apicals: of, relating to, or formed with the tip of the tongue (n, l and r are apical consonants).

Selvaged: possessing a narrow border often of different or heavier threads than the fabric and sometimes in a different weave.

 

Pg. 368

Cunctations: procrastination, delay.

Aphasiac: one suffering from aphasia, the loss of speech, partial or total, or loss of power to understand written or spoken language, as a result of disorder of the cerebral speech centers. (OED)

 

Pg. 370

Etiology: branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases.

Prolix: unduly prolonged or drawn out.

 

Pg. 371

Doric: of, relating to, or characteristic of the Dorians, an ancient Hellenic race that completed the overthrow of Mycenaean civilization and settled especially in the Peloponnisos and Crete.

 

Pg. 372

M.S.W.: master of social work.

 

Pg. 373

Rasa the Tabula: from tabula rasa, the Latin for smooth or erased tablet; rasa used as a verb to mean ‘erase the tablet.’

Circumoral: situated around the mouth.

Post-coital: following the physical union of male and female genitalia accompanied by rhythmic movements usually leading to the ejaculation of semen from the penis into the female reproductive tract.

Breviary: a book of the prayers, hymns, psalms, and readings for the canonical hours.

 

Pg. 374

Etiological: having to do with the branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases.

 

Pg. 375

U.S.O.U.S.: United States Office of Unspecified Services.

 

Pg. 376

Turdlet: perhaps having to do with ‘turd,’ a lump or piece of excrement; also, excrement, ordure.

Arachnodactylic: having fingers like presumably, the legs of a spider.

Mucronate: an abrupt sharp terminal point or tip or process (as of a leaf).

 

Pg. 377

Dysplasia: abnormal growth or development (as of organs or cells).

 

Pg. 378

D&C: dilatation and Curettage, a surgical procedure.

S.S.I.: ?

Proof: alcoholic strength indicated by a number that is twice the percent by volume of alcohol present.

 

Pg. 380

Toque: soft hat with a narrow brim worn especially in the 16th century.

Aigrette: a spray of feathers (as of the egret) for the head, or a spray of gems worn on a hat or in the hair.

Maraschino: a usually large cherry preserved in true or imitation maraschino.

Tendentiously: manner marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view.

 

Pg. 381

Amanuentic: ?

Fedora: a low soft felt hat with the crown creased lengthwise.

Né: born; past participle of the French verb naître, to be born.

Schmaltz: sentimental or florid music or art.

 

Pg. 382

GE/RCA: General Electric/ Radio Corporation of America.

Prescient: state of knowing something beforehand.

Agnation: kinship by descent.

Redolent : exuding fragrance, aromatic.

 

Pg. 383

Effluvia: an invisible emanation; especially an offensive exhalation or smell.

J.G.: Johnie Gentle.

F.C.: Famous Crooner.

Adipose: of or relating to animal fat ; broadly, fat.

 

Pg. 384

Imbricate-sequin: small plates of shining metal or plastic used for ornamentation especially on clothing lying lapped over each other in regular order.

 

Pg. 385

Puerile: Immature; childish.

Glycemically: Pertaining to, or derived from, the yellow jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens); as, gelseminic acid, a white crystalline substance resembling esculin.

Cannolis: A fried pastry roll with a sweet creamy filling.

Baklava: dessert made of paper-thin layers of pastry, chopped nuts, and honey.

Carbuncular: A painful localized bacterial infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue that usually has several openings through which pus is discharged.

ATHSCME: Air displacement system manufacturers.

Jejune: Not interesting; dull.

J.J.J.C: Prime Minister of Canada.

 

Pg. 386

Frappe: A beverage, usually a liqueur, poured over shaved ice.

Segues: To make a transition directly from one section or theme to another

Purling: To flow or ripple with a murmuring sound.

 

Pg. 387

Dickied: To take advantage of; cheat.

Kibitzing: To look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.

Dicky: Impaired; faulty; weak.

Fulgurant: Flashing like lightning; dazzlingly bright.

 

Pg. 388

Glabrous: Having no hairs, projections, or pubescence; smooth

Wunderkind: A child prodigy.

Mephisophelan: showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil.

 

Pg. 390

Seventh-Day Adventists: Seventh-day Adventists lead a disciplined lifestyle in anticipation of the Second Coming, thet have attracted nearly 8 million people around the world to what they believe is the true church.

Turpitude: Depravity; baseness.

Gala: A festive occasion.

C.F.D.C.: Caffeine Free Diet Coke.

Isometric: Of or being a crystal system of three equal axes lying at right angles to each other.

 

Pg. 391

E.E.C: European Economic Community.

 

Pg. 392

O.N.A.N: Organization of North American Nations.

 

Pg. 393

U.S.O.U.S: United States Office of Unspecified Services.

Sigmoid Colon: An S-shaped section of the colon between the descending section and the rectum. 

Acetate: Cellulose acetate or any of various products, especially fibers. 

Montages: single pictorial composition made by juxtaposing or superimposing many pictures or designs. 

 

Pg. 394

Batsoid: high derived from.

Somnambulist: A person who is subject to somnambulism; one who walks in his sleep; a sleepwalker; a noctambulist.

 

Pg. 395

Calotte: A skullcap.

Oncologist: The branch of medicine that deals with tumors, including study of their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Colorectal: Relating to or involving both the colon and the rectum.

Neoplastis: abnormal new growth of tissue in animals or plants.

Picayune: Of little value or importance.

Panatela: A long slender cigar.

 

Pg. 396

Berth: Sufficient space for a ship to maneuver; sea room.

Playlet: A short play.

 

Pg. 398

Coaxials: Having or mounted on a common axis.

Apriori: prior to experience.  

Benzenes: colorless, flammable, liquid aromatic hydrocarbon, C6H6, derived from petroleum and used in or to manufacture a wide variety of chemical products, including DDT, detergents, insecticides, and motor fuels.

 

Pg. 400

Matteing: Having a dull finish.  

Claque: A group of persons hired to applaud at a performance. 

Bouffant: Puffed-out. 

Hale: To compel to go. 

 

Pg.402

C.U.S.P.: Clean United States Party, sweeps to victory with Johnny Gentle.

Saprogenic: Of, producing, or resulting from putrefaction. 

Cojones: testicles.

 

Pg.403

Gerrymandering: To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.

Winnebagos: A Native American people formerly inhabiting the Green Bay area of Wisconsin, with present-day populations in Wisconsin and Nebraska.

 

Pg. 405

Boilerplate: A steel plate used in making the shells of steam boilers.

Recalcitrant: Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance.

 

Pg. 406

F.E.C.: Federal Election Commission.

 

Pg. 407

Dermalatix Hypospectral: A group of connective tissue diseases in which skin hangs in loose pendulous folds. It is believed to be associated with decreased elastic tissue formation as well as an abnormality in elastin formation.

Purportedly: Assumed to be such; supposed.

 

Pg. 408

Plush: A fabric of silk, rayon, cotton, or other material, having a thick deep pile.

 

Pg.. 409

Ruminatively: To turn a matter over and over in the mind.

 

Pg. 410

Lackadaisical: Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid.

Homodontic: Having all the teeth similar in front, as in the porpoises.

Cannabis: A tall annual dioecious plant (Cannabis sativa), native to central Asia and having alternate, palmately divided leaves and tough bast fibers.

 

Pg.411

Chintzy: Gaudy; trashy.

 

Pg. 412

Esoteric: Intended for or understood by only a particular grouPg.

A.C.D.C: American Council of Disseminators of Cable.

 

Pg. 413

REM: Rapid Eye Movement.

Fiscal: Of or relating to government expenditures, revenues, and debt.

 

Pg. 414

Coquettish: woman who makes teasing sexual or romantic overtures.

Avuncular: Regarded as characteristic of an uncle, especially in benevolence or tolerance.

 

Pg. 415

Penultimate: The next to the last.

Rapacious: Taking by force; plundering.

 

Pg.416

Epilepsy: Any of various neurological disorders characterized by sudden recurring attacks of motor, sensory, or psychic malfunction with or without loss of consciousness or convulsive seizures.

Digitus-populi: thumb.

Fiber-optic: The science or technology of light transmission through very fine, flexible glass or plastic fibers.

 

Pg. 417

spontaneous dissemination: the randomized dispersion of entertainment programs, with satellite origin.

Baby Bells: a group of 5 entertainment companies involved in dispersion of teleputer programming.

videophony: that which emanates from a videophone; having qualities of a television, equipped for both video and audio transmission.

 

Pg. 418

near-mycological: almost having the quality of a particular fungus.

ennui: listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of trust or interest; boredom; tedium.

 

Pg. 419

hydrocephalic: a usually congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue.

 

Pg. 420

psychomechanics: the workings and nature of the mind and thought process.

fantods: “fear, confusion, standing hair,” or the shivers.

 

Pg. 421

redemisement: a conveyance or transferal back, as with an estate.

Finlandization:?

Experialism: a reactionary policy of Canadian terrorists against O.N.A.N. consisting in the belief that O.N.A.N economic and cultural expansion throughout the Americas should halt and reverse.

 

Pg. 423

utilitaire:  the belief in which that which is the most practical and useful is the superior.

 

Pg. 425

soupe aux pois:  pea soup, the most-desired thing.

Produit du Montréal:  Product of Montreal.

Saveur Mason:  house flavor; home style.

Prete á Servir:  ready to serve.

pursuivre le bonheur:  pursuit of happiness.

 

Pg. 428

rien de bonk: lack of bonk.

 

Pg. 429

D’éclaisant:?

 

Pg. 430

samizdat: the ultimate in entertainment delivering pure pleasure in a cartridge.

gendarmes: a member of the French national police organization constituting a branch of the armed forces with responsibility for general law enforcement.

 

Pg. 433

bradykinetic: abnormally slow movement.

miasma: a noxious atmosphere or influence; a thick vaporous atmosphere or emanation.

 

Pg. 435

finski: cigarette?

 

Pg. 437

rictus grimaced: a strained, open-mouthed expression; a gaping grimace; the expanse of a bird’s open beak.

Pg. 440

pulchritudinous: having great physical beauty and appeal; to be pleasing to the eye.

 

Pg. 441

enhancements: taxes.

 

Pg. 442

Sino-epithetic: with Chinese captions or descriptions.

 

Pg. 443

hits the knees: prays.

 

Pg. 446

map: face.

 

Pg. 448

cirrhotic hemorrhage: profuse bleeding of the liver.

shunt: the act or process of turning aside, of moving to alternate course; a passage between two natural body channels such as blood vessels to divert or permit flow from one pathway or region to another.

 

Pg. 449

M.P.: Madame Psychosis.

Meetings: AA meetings.

shale: A fissile rock made of fine grained sediment.

grit: Minute granules.

College Board: The board that administers the SAT exam.

 

Pg. 450

HmH: The moniker for the headmaster’s house.

WYYY: 109 on the FM dial, the highest whole prime on the FM dial. The MIT radio station on which Madame Psychosis’s show is broadcast.

Horkheimer: Max Horkheimer. Author of the 1946 philosophical treatise called Eclipse of Reason on how insane ideas (like those of Nazi Germany) can be presented as reasonable.

Adorno: Theodor Adorno theorized that the culture industry fed the masses with the opposite of true art to placate and deaden the masses. A sort of cultural rather than economic Marxist.

Partridge Family: A musical sitcom family from a 70s sitcom of the same name.

GoreTex: Waterproof camping material.

fiberfill: A synthetic (generally polyester) stuffing material.

ambient: surrounding and encircling.

YDAU: Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.

scuttlebutt: Slang for gossiPg.

prorector: A rector is a cleric in charge of a church parish or managerial post or the principal of a school. A prorector is presumably the set of supporting posts to the principal who, at ETA, run the tennis drills. (Note: this is not a real word.)

 

Pg. 451

prorector: A rector is a cleric in charge of a church parish or managerial post or the principal of a school. A prorector is presumably the set of supporting posts to the principal who, at ETA, run the tennis drills. (Note: this is not a real word.)

triaged: To sort importance according to greatest need for attention or action of some kind.

fathered asleep: fell asleePg. slang?

bradypnea-afflicted: afflicted with slow breathing.

anodized: To coat (a metallic surface) electrolytically with a protective or decorative oxide.

Permutations: Rearrangements of the elements of a set. Also, the set of possible rearrangements in which the order of elements is important and not simply what elements are present.

ETA: Enfield Tennis Academy.

 

Pg. 452

alfresco: In the fresh air; outdoors.

Dunlop: A tennis, squash, and golf clothing and equipment brand.

alpaca: A glossy cotton or rayon and wool fabric. Also a South American mammal with long coarse fur.

ETA: Enfield Tennis Academy

dictate: A directive or command.

squelch: To produce a splashing, sucking, or squishing sound as a result of walking through ooze. Also to crush as if by trampling.

genuflecting: To bend one knee as in worshiPg. Also to grovel.

ATHSCME: Air displacement manufacturers similar to the cartoon company ACME and an anagram for “The Scam.”

ETAs: Students of Enfield Tennis Academy.

Sunstrand Complex:

Enfield Marine:

the Charles: The Charles River in Boston, MA.

non-pines: Deciduous trees.

canted: Angled deviation from the normal plane (the tilt caused by thrust or motion.) Also monotonous or jargoned speech.

circuitous: Taking the roundabout course.

reveille: The first military formation of the day or the audio signal to get out of bed.

retching: Slang for throwing uPg.

apse: A usually semicircular polygon, often the vaulted recess at the sanctuary terminus of a church.

transom: A lintel or crosspiece. Also the crosspiece of a window and a cross.

corona: A faintly colored aura around a celestial body caused by light diffraction from around the object.

 

Pg. 453

ETAs: Students of Enfield Tennis Academy.

Bolex: The brand of some sort of equipment that Mario wears or carries. Close to bollox or bollix, which is to throw into confusion.

alfresco: In the fresh air; outdoors.

Ball-Hopper-brand: A particular brand of tennis ball carrier that can be carried by long metal handles that can then be inverted to become legs.

capacious: Spacious or roomy.

opines: To express opinion.

sawing logs: Slang for sleeping (snoring).

double-edged: Cutting both ways (both good and bad or being negative or lethal in two different directions. A double-edged sword.

pattern-balding: Male pattern baldness is a genetic trait that shows up in males at various ages.

bratwursts: Small seasoned pork sausages.

VAPS: vector/angle/pace/spin.

 

Pg. 454

atom-smashing: A process conducted by particle accelerators where atoms are split into their smaller units to be studied.

volleys: Hitting the ball back over the net before it can bounce on your own side.

Puker: A drill that causes one to throw uPg.

revenant: One who returns after a long absence or after death.

I. Day: Interdependence Day.

first and second serves: In tennis, if the first serve is a fault, a second serve is awarded which is often played more cautiously (with a topspin that allows for a greater clearance of the net) so that the server does not lose that point.

slice serves: A very basic, beginners serve.

shank serves: A serve in which the ball is hit so that it veers in an unexpected direction.

American Twist serves: A serve that involves bending one’s knees and arching one’s back and twisting first away from and then toward the net to hit the ball so that it twists about 30 degrees off center.

 

Pg. 455

conic: In the shape of a cone.

urns’: A vessel usually having a footed base, in this case referring to the Gatorade jug with a spigot.

transom: A lintel or crosspiece. Also the crosspiece of a window and a cross.

Fila: An equipment and clothing brand for tennis and various other sports.

claret: A dark wine-red purplish color.

nacreous: Pearly.

baroque: Extravagant, complex, or bizarre.

 

Pg. 456

picric: Pertaining to a strong organic acid.

Methuen-Andover:

effectuators: Some sort of futuristic air-mover.

MA’s: Massachusetts’

esoteric: Intended to be understood by only a select few.

potential distress: In this case, puking or throwing uPg.

resting pulse rate: Beats per minute (bpm) of one’s heart without exercise.  The normal rate is 60-100 for teenagers and adults, but it is 40-60 for well-trained athletes.

 

Pg. 457

fungoes: Fly balls hit for fielding practice (generally in baseball).

Air-Stirrup: An ankle brace with two inflatable pieces placed on either side of the ankle and held in place by Velcro. It limits inversion/eversion but also limits normal motion.

mewing: To make the high-pitched crying sound of a cat.

 

Pg. 458

ruminate: To turn a matter over and over in the mind.

 

Pg. 459

pirouettic: Like a pirouette or dancing spin.

ranging: Roaming.

 

Pg. 460

vasculature: Arrangement of blood vessels in an organ or body.

joggling: Referring to a notch-protrusion method of attachment and the action of the objects surrounding such an attachment.

Raggedy-Andy: A doll with an oversized head. The companion to Raggedy-Anne.

Kodiak: A drug of some sort????

z coordinate: a point on the z axis that represents three dimensionality. the x and y of a Cartesian plane are flat on a piece of paper while the z axis is perpendicular to both and would protrude directly out of the x-y plane.

Gaugin-motif sweater: A sweater typical of Gaugin paintings?

 

Pg. 461

baconschteam: bacon steam.

revenant: One that returns after a long absence or death.

morendo: Dying; a gradual decrescendo.

wicked: Boston slang to increase the emphasis of another adjective.

scoop: An opening on racing cars where fluid is injected directly into the engine.

periscopically: Like a periscope.

thin canted: Narrow and slanted type of gearshift.

NA: narcotics anonymous.

 

Pg. 462

D&D’s: Drunk and Disoderly charges.

pinched: Slang for being caught by the police for illegal acts.

promoted: Slang for stealing.

Possession With Intent: Possession of drugs with intention to distribute those drugs.

Pez container: Dispenser of tiny pill-shaped Pez candies

vis-à-vis: Compared to; face to face with.

constabulary: The body of constables or officers of the law.

 

Pg. 463

cuticles: The strip of hardened skin at the base of the fingernail.

Percodan: Addictive prescription pain drug.

stenographer: Someone employed to transcribe testimony.

Revere A.D.A.: Respected? Assistant District Attorney.

addled: Muddled, confused.

Nucko-Political: Canadian political.

P.D.: Police Department

MCI: Massachusetts Correctional Institution.

hinked: slang for excited.

‘did his time stand-up’: ?

AA: Alcoholics Anonymous.

Demerol: Addictive prescription pain drug.

Sergeant at Arms:

 

Pg. 464

curlies: Slang for pubic hairs.

epileptic: Relating to a neurological disease characterized by sudden convulsions or epileptic seizures.

lacquer: Clear or colored synthetic coating.

Svelte: Accessory brand that sells nail extensions.

 

Pg. 465

D.T.s: Detox centers.

cirrhotic hemorrhage: Excessive blood loss resulting from cirrhosis of the liver in which viable liver cells are replaced by fibrous tissue often as a result of alcohol abuse.

Morse Code: A code of short and long beeps or flashes of light that represent letters that can, in tandem, be used to communicate words.

Guy Who Didn’t Even Use His First Name: Founder of Ennet House who is fabled to have had people chew rocks as therapy.

South Shore: Seaside and fairly well-off area near Boston.

rictus: The expanse of an open mouth.

 

Pg. 466

neurological right-leg: Referring to the neurological deficits of specific parts of the body after a stroke that accounts for incomplete control of that body part.

a beef: Slang for a street fight.

pap: slang for a nipple, teat, or something resembling a nipple.

phone-bunko: A swindle in which an unexpected person is cheated with the confidence of the swindler over the phone.

hotwire: Slang for starting a car without the keys by connecting the correct wires under the dashboard.

promote: Slang for stealing.

 

Pg. 467

E.W.D.’s: Empire Waste Displacement.

insectile: Like an insect.

tropes: A figure of speech using words in non-literal words such as metaphor.

vent spleen: Slang for talking to clear one’s mind.

Demerol: An addictive prescription pain drug.

Talwin: An addictive prescription pain drug.

gasper-smoke: Slang for cigarette smoke.