IJ343
From Literature Concordances
343 · The Longest Chapter in the Book
Page 343
Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment
singular
unique
polysterene
styrofoam
ziggurats
an ancient type of Mesopotamian temple tower
fiberboard
board made of small fibers of wood, plastic, or some combination of these and other materials
Concord
Concord is about 20 miles west of Boston and is the site one of the first battles of the American Revolution.
Page 344
rotary
a traffic circle or, in the U.K., a roundabout
plywood
material made of thin layers of wood glued together
'12th-Step Work'
The twelfth and final step of AA is this: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
epigrammatic
of or pertaining to the use of short and pithy statements
pay it forward
thus the title of this movie
nip
drink of alcohol
Dick Cavett and Truman Capote
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett (born 1936) is an Emmy-award-winning television talk-show host. Truman Capote (1924-1984) was an American writer and novelist, best known for writing In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Both men were remarkably short.
Endnote 133
variegated
diverse
esoteric
understood or recognized by few people
Page 344 (cont'd)
piping
This is a tubular band of ornamental material; Nodie is probably a brand name.
imbricate
overlapping in sequence
tailor's notch
You get one from biting thread to cut it.
incisors
front top teeth
Page 345
insipid
without interesting qualities
AA Preamble
You can read it here.
empathy
one's ability to feel the emotions of another person
what he is
i.e., an alcoholic
Endnote 134
nonpunitive
not intended as a punishment
nitro
nitroglycerin, used for cardiac attacks
Page 345 (cont'd)
145 kph
a hair over 90 miles per hour
litany
a prolonged or tedious account
Page 345
waxing
growing in size, as for the first half of a lunar cycle
peritonitis
inflammation of the serous membrane lining the abdomenal cavity
cirrhotic
pertaining to hardening of liver tissue
nephritis
inflammation of the kidneys
Page 347
compadre
a close friend or companion, from the Spanish for "godfather"
ravening
voracious
maw
mouth
Black Mass
a Satanic ritual based on ten Roman Catholic mass
Page 348
"...something whimpery instead of banging."
a reference to the last line of T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men
garish
loud and flashy
Balaclavan
a reference to Balaklava, Ukraine, where these is nuclear submarine base
thermal
a warm, rising air current
arbitrage
simultaneous purchase and sale of the same assets in different markets
compound
i.e., a compound fracture, where the bone protrudes through the skin
Svce
Service
Unitarian
Though the term refers to Unitarianism, here it suggestsa kind of hippyesque, wishy-washyness.
Page 349
Hindenburg
Named for Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1847-1934), the German field marshal, hero of World War I, and last President of the Weimar Republic, the Hindenburg was a hydrogen-powered zeppelin that exploded over Lakehurst, N.J., on May 6, 1937.
nonuremic
so as not to appear in one's urine
foamer
beer
Page 350
beatific
blissful or angelic
Zippo
a brand of lighter
saccharin
Based on the word for the artificial sweetener in Sweet & Low, the word as used here means "overly sweet."
flummoxed
confused or perplexed
burnished
rubbed smooth
squalid
foul and repulsive
Page 351
terse
using few words
imperative
a tense of verb implicating a command or directive
zealotry
fanaticism
green-card Irishman
an Irishman who is a permanent resident non-citizen of the U.S.
meal
ground grain
metal-pedalled
i.e., "with the pedal to the metal," i.e., at top speed
chemical psychosis
Psychosis (called "speed psychosisis") a not uncommon side effect of amphetamine abuse.
wax lyrical
to speak poetically
"'d been a confarmed..."
I'd been a confirmed bowl-splatterer for years beyond counting. I'd been barred from the facilities at all the truck stops betwixt here nad New York for years. The wallpaper in the loo at home hung in these curled sheets from the wall, I tell you. But now one day . . . I'll remember it always. It were a week to the day after I stood up for my ninety-day chip. I were three months sober. I were there on the throne at home, you know. Not to put too fine a point on it, I prodeuced as usual and . . . and I were so amazed as to not believing my ears. It was a sound so unfamiliar at the first I thouht I'd dropped my wallet int he loo, do you know? I thought I'd dropped me wallet in the loo as god is my witness. So down I bend betwixt my knees and had a look in the dim of the loo and couldn't believe my eyes. So good people I do then I drop to my knees by the loo and had a real look. A lover's look, do you know? And friends it were a lovely past my poor powers to say. It were a turd in the loo. A real turd. It were firm and tapered and ever so gently arched. It looked . . . constructed instead of sprayed. It look as I felt in my heart God himself made a turd to look. My firends, this thurd of mien practically had a pulse. I staed downon my kness and thanked my Higher Power, which I choose to call my Higher Power God, and I been thanking my Higher Power on my knees ever since, morning and nighttime and in the loo as well, ever since.
Page 352
Enuresis
bed-wetting
Priapism
an erection that won't go away
Projectile-incontinence
inability to hold owns bowels to the extent that feces shoot out of the anus
Autocastration
castration of one's self
fringe-Birchism
Birchism is adherence to the principles of the John Birch Society, an ultra-right-wing political organization
National-Socialist-Bundism
probably something like the German-American Bund of Fritz Julius Kuhn
Coprophilia and -phagia
sexual excitement brought on by feces and eating of feces, respectively
candelabrum
a holder for more than one candle
Page 353
vitriol
something highly caustic or severe, as criticism
orevwar
They trying to say au revoir, i.e., French for "goodbye."
fremitic
characterized by tremor vibrations in any part of the body
Page 354
verdant
green with vegetation
varicose
having veins that are visible through the skin
shamanistic fiat
A shaman is a priest or religious official, usually of an indigenous religion. A fiat is an order, based on the Latin for the imperative form of the verb "to be."
30 kph
18.6 miles per hour
talismanically
in a way suggesting something having to do with a magic charm or amulet
Lord's Prayer
from Matthew 20:9-13
ballast
meaning an electric ballast, which is used to regulate and stabilize the current in lights
Page 355
gnarled
knotty of misshappen
Sixers
the short name for the Philadelphia 76ers
MCI-Walpole
This is the Massachusetts Correction Institute at Walpole, about 25 miles southwest of Boston.
raisin jack
an alcoholic drink fermented from raisins, commonly made in prisons
spectral
looking like a ghost
Page 356
LeSabre
the Buick LeSabre
jack-legged
a slang term meaning "always screwing up"
dash
short for "dashboard"
abject
sunken to a low position, as in "abject poverty"
regs
regulations
autonomy
control or rule over one's self
Page 357
fibrosis
scarring
Endnote 139
entomologic
Entomology is the study of insects.
Page 357 (cont'd)
Mr. Rogers
The Reverend Frederick McFeely "Fred" Rogers (1928-2003) was an American minister and children's television show host.
rhapsodize
speak in an extravagantly elegant manner
fisticuffery
fist-fighting
invectives
abusive expressions of opinion
Sergeant at Arms
an officer appointed to keep order
Page 358
apothegm
a short, pithy statement
head
bathroom
spuds
potatoes
nocturnal
happening at night
crook
a shepherd's staff
French-curled
You can see French-curled jewelry here
demurely
in an effectedly modest way
Page 359
circumferences
distances around the edge of a circle
cuticles
dead skin at the bottom of the fingernails
astringent
a chemical that tends to dry something else out
onionlight
You can see onionlights here.
isopropyl
a type of alcohol, found in rubbing alcohol
reek
to smell very badly
A.D.A.
Assistant District Attorney
Page 360
fumigated
permeated with gas to kill insects
idiosyncrasy
a peculiarity of personality
rattan
material taken from the rattan plant, a climbing palm with very long stems
Big Book
This is the AA "bible," so to speak, and can be found online here.
As Bill Sees It
a book by Bill W., one of AA's founders, first published in 1967
Came To Believe
another AA publication, this one published in 1973
Page 361
joggling
shaking slightly
Demerol
a brand name of pethidine, a painkiller
photic
having to do with light
Page 362
copperheads
one of five species of poisonous snake
tongues
The reference is to glossolalia.
larynx
voice box
requisite
essential or necessary
venulated
The word means "able to see the veins"; this condition of the nose is very common among advanced alcoholics.
'Volare'
This is a song whose title is from the Italian for "to fly." The song was written by Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci. Modugno went on to be a member of Italy's parliament
Page 363
pupil and iris
The pupil is the black circle at the center of the eye, while the iris is the colored part (blue, green, brown).
cognito
which is to say, in Lenz's case, incognito
Ferragamos
an Italian brand of shoes
periphery
an external boundary
11-Step
recalling the 12th step on page 344, UHID must lack this step, or perhaps one of the others
Page 364
Rémy
Rémy-Martin, a brand of cognac
Tiparillo
a brand name of cigar
Year of Dairy Products From the American Heartland
defib paddles
the paddles used in defibrillation, the application of electric shocks to the heart to re-start it
divot
Normally a golf term, a divot is the hole left by the dirt displaced when one strikes a golf ball.
rankness
the quality of being offensive
proprietary
Usually referring to an owner, here it refers to feeling as if one has a sense of ownership.
Page 365
rectum
the very end of the large intestine
hubristic
having exaggerated pride or self-confidence
7-iron
a type of golf club
tenth rough
off the fairway on the tenth hole of a golf course
Page 366
flats
women's shoes without heels
subjunctive
contingent on something else happening
counterfactual
at variance with what really happened
indicative
According to Merriam-Webster, "indicative" means "of, relating to, or constituting a verb form or set of verb forms that represents the denoted act or state as an objective fact."
transposition
switching the position of two things
Radarange
microwave
pass
here used to mean "place"
allude
here used to mean "give an impression of"
Page 367
velour
a piled and nappy material resembling velvet
caparison
an ornamental covering for a horse, or just rich clothing
gavel
the type of hammer a judge uses to restore or maintain order
3* | 10 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17* | 27* | 32* | 33* | 37 | 38 | 39* | 42 (1) | 42 (2) | 49* | 54 (1) | 54 (2) | 55 | 60 (1) | 60 (2) | 61 | 63* | Endnote 24 | 65 | 66* | 67 | 68* | 78 | 79 | 85 | 87 | 87* | 93 (1) | 93 (2) | 95 | 97 (1) | 97 (2) | 105 | 109 | 121 | 126 | 127 | 127* | 128 | 135* | 137 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 (1) | 144 (2) | 151* | 157* | 169 | 172 | 176 | 181* | 193 | 198 | 200 | 211 | 219* | 223 (1) | 223 (2) | 227 (1) | 227 (2) | 240* | 242 | 258* | 270 | 281 | 283* | 299 | 306* | Endnote 110 | 312 | 317 | 321* | 343 | 367 (1) | 367 (2) | 375 (1) | 375 (2) | Endnote 145 | 376 | 379 | 380* | 386 | 394 | 395 | 398 | 410 | 418 | 430 | 434 | 436 | 442* | 449 | 450 | 461 | 470 | 475 | 489 | 491 | 503 | 507 | 508 | 528 | 531 | 538* | 548 | 550 | 553 | 560 (1) | 560 (2) | 563 | 565 | Endnote 234 | 567 | 574 | 575 | 589 | 593 | 596 | 601 | 620* | 627 | 638 | 648 | 651 | 663 | Endnote 269 | 666 | 673 | 682 | 686 | 689 | 692 (1) | 692 (2) | 698 | 700 (1) | 700 (2) | 700 (3) | 701 (1) | 701 (2) | 701 (3) | 711 | 714 | 716 | 719 (1) | 719 (2) | 721 | 723 (1) | 723 (2) | 724 | 728 | 729 | Endnote 304 | 736 | 747 | 751 | 752 | 755 | 769 | 774 | 782 | 785 | 787 (1) | 787 (2) | 795 (1) | 795 (2) | 809* | 827 | 845 | 846 | 851 | 854 | 864 | 876 | 883 | 896 | 902 | 906 | 911 | 916 (1) | 916 (2) | 934 (1) | 934 (2) | 938 | 941 | 958 (1) | 958 (2) | 960 | 964 | 971 | 972
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