Chapter 8: 77-86
Contents
Page 77
Sensorium
The unique and changing sensory environments perceived by individuals, see WIKI.
Etesian
Prevailing northerly monsoonal winds in the summer and early fall. The word originates from latin aetas, summer.
not whistle
Such a fun "vice" was not allowed on ship, because of superstitious associations..
Torpedick
Comes from electric eels (see Torpediniformes), from the Latin "torpere," to be stiffened or paralyzed, referring to the effect on someone who handles or steps on a living electric ray.
Bandieten
Armed thieves in a band of thieves. Still in use in contemporary Dutch.
Batavia
Jakarta, Indonesia during the Dutch colonial era, see WIKI.
Pumplenose
A large citrus fruit (Citrus maxima); the ancestor of grapefruit (or the tree itself).
Etymologically, an alternate form of the South African “pampelmoes”—commonly known elsewhere as the pomelo, Chinese grapefruit, jabong, or shaddock (after Captain Shaddock, who introduced the fruit to the West Indies in the 17th C.). The OED lists 18 alternate forms of "pampelmoes," including, most comically, pimple-nose and pummel-nose. In Dutch it is pompelmoes and pretty popular.
My local grocer offered a small stash of pomelos last year, and I bought one out of curiosity. It was quite similar to yellow grapefruit, but much larger—though I discovered that the size is due to an extraordinarily thick and pulpy rind. The fruit itself was smaller, dryer, and somewhat less tart than most grapefruits. Though worth a try, I doubt if most readers would be so taken as to make the pumplenose a regular part of their diet.
Page 78
monitory
Conveying an admonition or a warning
the Watch
Closely observing an area as in a neighborhood watch.
his Fell
hide: the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
virid
Etymology: From the Latin viridis, from virere ‘to be green’.
Pronunciation:/'vɪrɪd/
1977: His protruberant eyeballs were veined with red like certain kinds of rare marble. He urged me to meditate upon the virid line of the whirling universe. — Angela Carter, The Passion of New Eve
Voorhuis
Dutch: fronthouse
Page 79
"Tell me, what'd I say?"
Perhaps a reference to Ray Charles' 1959 hit song, "What'd I Say," which features this line. Wikipedia entry
lock'd his front door
(Traditional?)
Fumulus
fumulus—A contraction of the words fume and cumulus, indicating water-droplet clouds that form within the top of rising plumes from smokestacks.
Page 80
Stoep
Entered English as 'stoop' in 1789.
Theater of the Japanese
Called Noh (see Wikipedia). Here is the relevancy for the text: When hand props other than fans are used, they are usually introduced or retrieved by stage attendants who fulfill a similar role to stage crew in contemporary theater. Like their Western counterparts, stage attendants for Noh traditionally dress in black, but unlike in Western theater they may appear on stage during a scene, or may remain on stage during an entire performance, in both cases in plain view of the audience, who are expected to ignore them.
the Range of their Desires
Must be compared, it would seem, to the name of Part 1 of ATD: Light Over the Ranges.
Younkers
youn·ker: Pronunciation: 'y&[ng]-k&r
Etymology: Dutch: jonker--young nobleman
1 : a young man
2 : CHILD, YOUNGSTER Merriam-Webster Dict.
delegated the sighing
Jet will not sigh over the romantic overtures; her sisters will.
Page 81
Jesuit part
his penis, that is part of his lap, where the Guitar is? A(nother) small penis joke with an aware allusion to "Jesuitical", arguing small points?
Sylphs
Word for a slender, graceful woman (or girl) while also word for mythological creatures of Western tradition; elementals of air, see WIKI.
Page 82
lengkua
"...the word should be lengkuas, a Malay word for the spice whose Linnean name is Alpinia galanga. Now, this site has a slew of names for it: siamese ginger, siamese galanga, java galangal, greater galangal, el galangal, el adkham, hang dou kou, stor kalanga, galanga, galanga de l'inde, laos, galgant, kulanjan, naukyo, lenkuas, galanga maior, kha, ka, riêng, großer galgant, herbe indienne, da liang jiang, grand galanga, galanga majeur. But the form galangal seems to be the current English name, used alongside galanga ... is Pynchon's lengkua a simple mistake or typo for lengkuas, or could it be a legitimate (though rare) alternate form? I have too much respect for Pynchon and his love of variant forms to assume the former, but I don't see much evidence for the latter ... Incidentally, the OED has the entry form galingale (used by Chaucer in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales: 'A Cook they hadde with hem for the nones/ To boille the chiknes with the Marybones/ And poudre Marchant tart and galyngale')" -- posted by a linguist on Languagehat.com
Bilimbi pickles
AVERRHOA Bilimbi, or Vilimbipuli or Irumpanpuli (in Malayalam), is a fruit seen in the backyard of most homes in Kerala. Unlike other fruits, it has not found a place in the market or been used in the food preservation industry.[2003 article] It belongs to Oxalidaceae, the sorrel family, and is a small pinnate-leaved tree cultivated in the tropics. The fruit resembles a small green cucumber and grows on the trunk and the older branches. The fruit is about two to five centimetres long and acidic in nature with a sour taste. The flowers are tiny five-petalled and maroon.
The fruit is a rich source of Vitamin C. It fights cholesterol, and is used as a tonic and a laxative. Syrup made from the fruit is used in French Guyana to cure ailments arising from jaundice. The fruit is also known to stop internal bleeding in the stomach.
The fruit was hitherto known to be used only in curries and in the making of pickles.
Bilimbi pickle
Ingredients: Small or medium sized Bilimbi cut lengthwise 1/4 kg Green chillies 5 Garlic 10 lobes Ginger 2 pieces about one inch in length Wheat flour 1/4 dsp (desert spoon — 3 tsps) Gram flour 1/4 dsp Chilli powder 1 1/2 dsp Mustard and fenugreek 1/4 tsp each Asafoetida powder 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Vinegar 2 oz. Gingelly oil 2 to 3 oz.
Method:
Add a little salt to the bilimbi and keep in the sun for two days, in a wide-mouthed, shallow earthen vessel. Pour the oil in a deep vessel, and season with the mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves. Then sauté the garlic and ginger after ground to a fine paste. Add the chillies and sauté. (Heat the wheat and gram flour and keep aside). Lower the fire and add the chilli powder and asafoetida. Add the salt and vinegar and bring to a boil. Then add the bilimbi and the fried powders. Remove from fire and bottle when cool.
Bobotie
From Wikipedia (and confirmed with the OED): “Bobotie is a South African dish … of spiced [curried], minced meat baked with an egg-based topping … [It] probably originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia … [and has been] known in the Cape of Good Hope since the 17th century … Some recipes also call for chopped onions … Traditionally, bobotie incorporates dried fruit … It is often garnished with walnuts, chutney and bananas … Bobotie was transported by South African settlers to colonies all over Africa.”
Frikkadel
Typical Afrikaner dish, spiced meatball. Recipe
Page 84
Satay
sa·tay also sa·té or sa·te (sä'tā)
n.
A dish of southeast Asia consisting of strips of marinated meat, poultry, or seafood grilled on skewers and dipped in peanut sauce.
[Malay saté, satai or Indonesian sate, both perhaps of Tamil origin.]
Rakhman
A popular indonesian name which seems to be used jokingly.
even better, as Eve
(No missing rib? Gets to be disobedient?)
Page 85
B-st-rd
Who's censoring here? A convention in 18th century literature.
a Tun short... law
Tun:large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Definition in context
Fence-Runner
Not in OED? He means surveyer, insinuating that all surveyers do is measure property lines.
Page 86
Nidor of Lambs
While "nidor" means scent or savor of meat, or food, cooking, it is also interesting to note that Nidor is the name of a fictional planet in two science fiction books of the 1950's; on Nidor there is no separation between society and religion. For more see the WIKI.
recreations including running Amok
"Running amok, sometimes referred to as simply amok (also spelled amuck or amuk), is derived from the Malay word mengamuk, meaning "to go mad with rage" (uncontrollable rage). In typical cases of running amok, someone, although having shown no previous sign of anger and/or any inclination to resort to violence, will acquire a weapon and in a sudden frenzy will attempt to kill or seriously injure everyone they meet. Amok episodes of this kind normally end with the amok-runner being killed by bystanders" -- from Wikipedia
Transubstantiation . . . presided
Transubstantiation is the Catholic belief that the bread of communion literally and actually becomes the body of Christ. Here, the young clergyman writes that Mason's father presided in the oven because Mason's father was a baker. Thus, there's a play on "father" since "God the Father" is in the bread (i.e., transubstantiation) and Mason's biological father is associated with bread.
