Difference between revisions of "Pages 167-174"

Revision as of 06:43, 26 April 2010

This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.

Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.

Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.

Page 167

167.36 "And the crowds they swarm in Knightsbridge, and the wireless carols drone, and the Underground's a mob-scene, but Pointsman's all alone" Sung to the tune of the Kinks' "A Well-Respected Man" ... "And he gets up in the morning, and he goes to work at 9, etc etc"]

Page 168

168.22-23 "What did the Cockney exclaim to the cowboy from San Antonio?" I think Weisenburger tries way too hard on this one. If you ask me, the punchline to this terrible joke is simply "Cor, Tex!" with the "cor" from the Cockney slang exclamation "Cor blimey!" and the "Tex" from the American cowboy diminutive, indicating a person from Texas. --Jpicco 12:47, 31 May 2009 (PDT)

Page 169

169.7-8 ...some piece by Ernesto Lecuona, Siboney perhaps...
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (1895-1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist. Siboney (Canto Siboney) was from 1929. Siboney is also a town in Cuba.

169.30 bass part to Diadem
One of several tunes used for the hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name; James Ellor wrote the tune.

169.31 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps.

169.39 Welshman in Henry V
Refers to Fluellen, a comically stereotyped Welsh soldier in Shakespeare's historical play, believed to have been written around 1599.

page 171

171.7 Aberystwyth
A tune composed by Joseph Parry, often used in hymns; Aberystwyth is a city in Wales.

171.11 bubble-and-squeak
A traditional English dish made with the shallow-fried leftover vegetables, usually potato and cabbage, from a roast dinner.

171.12 slap-and-tickle
British-English slang: playful kissing, tickling, caressing; foreplay

page 172

172.29 the white riders
Death. American [Arizonian; some sources say] Folktale. The White Rider[[1]]

Page 173

173.21 Vat 69
A brand of blended whisky.

173.26-27 babies born...also following a Poisson Distribution
births parallel the rockets of death.

173.39 Christmas bugs
Waterbugs... that are "agents of unification". Pynchon likes Christmas and creatures in the 'Low-lands'. These bugs were in History's most famous 'manger'....a tranquil world.