The Whispering Land - Durrell Gerald - Страница 43
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to shrug something off – to dismiss it with a shrug of the shoulders
back-breaking potholes – holes in a road fit to break one's back when driving over them had played me false – had failed me, had deceived me
what I took to be the male of the herd – the animal I took for the male guanaco (a guanaco herd consists of a male, several females and some baby guanacos)
a pair of… lorgnettes (Fr.) - a pair of eye-glasses usually held by a long handle; when using them, a person generally has to tilt back his or her head
terrier – a breed of dog, usually of small size anthropomorphic – here partly human, partly animal; the word is generally used when describing human-like traits or actions of animals, not vice versa, as in this case biscuit brown – see note to p. 32 rather a lark (colloq.) - very funny
rocker – a curved piece of wood on which a rocking-horse (children's toy) is mounted discretion is the better part of valour – a saying which means that it is unwise to take unnecessary risks bichos (Sp.) - animals
maternity ward – a ward in a hospital where women are taken Care of during and after childbirth elefanteria (Sp.) - a place favoured by elephant seals
I shivered my way into a half-sleep – shivering, I tried to sleep, but succeeded in falling only into a half-sleep my cocoon of semi-warmth – my covering which protected me against the cold but did not give real warmth
a nerve- and spine-shattering experience – an experience that racked your nerves and could easily break your back (note the literal and figurative meanings of shatter, which come into play simultaneously)
creaming waves – waves with white froth resembling whipped cream
moving plate = moving picture: the word plate is here used in the sense of 'a thin sheet of metal upon which pictures are engraved, and from which impressions are taken', 'an impression printed from such a plate and used as an illustration in a book'
the fat was scalloped into folds – the author means that the fur seals' necks were adorned with scallops of fat, i.e. with a series of pleats or folds resembling the edge of a scallop-shell, sometimes used as ornament on the hem of a dress beery face – a puffy face, betraying the effects of beer-drinking
Humpty Dumpty – the hero of a nursery rhyme, a person with a short round figure, shaped like an egg. Lewis Carroll chose him for one of the characters of his book Through the Looking-glass (sequel to Alice in Wonderland). The world-famous illustrations for Carroll's books were made by John Tenniel (1820- 1914). In his picture of Humpty Dumpty seated on top of a wall, the artist brought out, in a most expressive manner, the conceit and arrogance with which Carroll endowed this personage.
frogman – an underwater swimmer equipped with long rubber shoes like a frog's hind feet
Balinese dancers (of the Bali Island, one of the islands lying east of Java) are famous for the grace and elegance of their performance.
rumba (Sp.) - a Cuban Negro dance; a ballroom dance imitative of this folk dance russet – reddish-brown
was a constant state of nerves (colloq.) - was in a permanent state of anxiety
Presbyterian – a member of the Presbyterian church. Presbyterians formed the right wine of the Puritans, the English variety of Calvinists who preached love of virtue, pure living, and self-restraint.
was a wife short – missed one of his wives
dropsical-looking – looking swollen as if they had dropsy, a disease in which watery fluids collect in the tissues of the body to feint – in box, to sham an attack to deceive the opponent by diverting his attention
one's elders and betters – persons deserving respect because of their age, experience and social standing star-gazing – being in an absent-minded and dreamy state, like a person studying the stars (from the noun star-gazer 'one studying the stars to foretell the future')
balloon animals – toy animals made of rubber balloons filled with air creche (Fr.) - a public nursery where children are looked after while their mothers are at work to dump (colloq.) - to deposit without ceremony, to let fall in a mass or a heap (usually applied to rubbish or coal)
The author means that he had plenty of character and determination, which amply compensated his small size.
to lollop off – to walk off in a clumsy manner
Note the author's tendency to replace one of the words in a stock phrase, thus producing a humorous effect (cf. "as fast as his legs would carry him").
cummerbund (Anglo-Indian) - a waist sash rumbaed towards it – moved towards it as if dancing the rumba siesta [si'esta] (Sp.) - a short sleep taken at midday or in the afternoon, especially in hot countries ploughed his way through them – forced his way, moving with difficulty among them, like a plough turning up earth anatomy – the author's usual ironical synonym for body life-giving nourishment – a humourous paraphrase for milk matching the high-flown verb to imbibe (synonym for drink)
a free drink – a drink for nothing, at someone else's expense to negotiate – see note to p. 35; here this verb acquires an ironical ring, since Oswald has to overcome a living obstacle in one's depth – in water not too deep to touch bottom (ant. out of one's depth)
pekinese (or pekingese) ['pi:ki'ni:z] – a small Chinese dog with short legs and a pug nose
none of them seemed any the worse – evidently none of-them suffered from the ill effects of their swimming lesson would hump themselves down – would move down, proceeding with the help of humping their backs (cf. the description of the elephant seals manner of movement on p. 78)
Elizabethan ruff – a kind of collar worn in the 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was made of white
material, stiffly starched and standing up in folds touching each other.
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