IJ157

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157* · Winter B.S. 1960

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Page 157

The narrator is James O. Incandenza's father.

roiling

displeasing or disturbing

saddle shoes and bobby sox

You can look at saddle shoes here; bobby socks (sox) are ankle-length and frilly socks, often worn as part of a school uniform.

baffles

A baffle is "an artificial obstruction for checking or deflecting the flow of gases (as in a boiler), sounds (as in the loudspeaker system of a radio or hi-fi set), light (as in a darkroom), etc." (Random House Unabridged Dictionary).

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Page 158

swinishest

most swinish, i.e., most pig-like

sodding

a pejorative intensifier, chiefly British in usage

fingerling

something very small

the Beats

members of the Beat generation

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Page 159

1956 Mercury Montclair

See right, though Incandenza's father's car is "bit-lip red."

nubbly

full of small protuberances

sinew

another word for tendon

parping

According to the OED, a parp is a honking sound; parping is defined as causing something (as a car horn) to parp.

Head is body.

Incandenza's father is expressing a non-Cartesian point of view. René Descartes (1596-1650), the French polymath, separated the mind (res cogitans) from the body (res extensa).

rutilant

bright red

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Page 160

actuating

putting into action

Nein?

German: No?

tiller

what turns the rudder to steer a boat

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Page 161

pronator teres

a muscle of the forearm

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Page 162

whorled

having whorls, i.e., coiled and spiral shapes

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Page 163

flying sod

He's referring to divots, i.e., bits of the fairway that get torn up when a golf ball is hit.

anal rage

He's probably referring to anal-retentive rage, rather than rage specifically located in the anus.

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Page 164

DeSotos

a brand of automobile, examples of which can be seen here

hove

past tense of heave

lox

smoked salmon

gregariously

in a sociable manner

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Page 165

Himself

Note that Incandenza's father calls his own father by the same nickname as Incandenza's children call him.

senza errori

Italian: Without errors

veldt

From Afrikaans, this is a word for an open field with grass, bushes, etc.

deft

quick and skillful

President

here referring to Franklin Roosevelt

lattice

This is "a structure of crossed wooden or metal strips usually arranged to form a diagonal pattern of open spaces between the strips" (Random House Unabridged Dictionary).

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