Pages 181-189

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.

Un Perm' au Casino Hermann Goering reader suggestion: The image and metaphor of a permanent wave will become apparent as this section unfolds. Something else to note: How many times does Tyrone change costumes?

Page 181

181.25 Hispano-Suiza
A luxury automobile made by the Spanish firm of the same name; best known for their cars, engines (including world famous aviation engines) and weapons designs in the pre-World War II period.

Page 182

Johnson’s film was titled Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (not "Minutes"), but there are more likely references at work, given the context of Bloat and Tantivy comparing British love life to Slothrop's. In at least two 1944 films, Between Two Women and Two Girls and a Sailor, Johnson had to cope with multiple romances.

182.6 Cravens
A brand of cigarette named after the 3rd Earl of Craven, 1860; although named after a person, this is a refreshing instance of truth in advertising, especially for the cigarette industry

182.35 Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz (1780–1831) was a Prussian soldier, military historian and expert military theorist. He is most notable for his treatise Vom Kriege, translated into English as On War.

Page 183

183.10 J'ai deux amis, aussi
French: I have two friends, too

183.17 déjeuner
French: lunch

183.24 sur la plage
French: on the beach

183.29 Fauve
Les Fauves (French: Wild Beasts) were a short-lived and loose grouping of early 20th century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong color over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism.

Page 184

184.14 Norfolk jacket
A loose, belted, single-breasted jacket with box pleats on the back (and sometimes front), now with a belt or half-belt. The style was long popular for boys' jackets and suits, and is still used in some (primarily military and police) uniforms.

184.33 Cesar Flebótomo
An excellent name for a casino manager: a caesar is a ruler, phlebotomy is the act of drawing blood, therefore 'King Bloodsucker'!

184.39 Messerschmitt
Fighter plane from the German concern Messerschmitt AG

Page 185

185.22 Wehrmacht
The word literally means defense force and denotes the whole warfighting establishment, including the Heer (land army) Kriegsmarine (navy) and Luftwaffe (air force), and even (although never formally) the Waffen SS.

185.22 chines
A chine is a sharp angle in the hull of a boat, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most traditional hulls.

185.22 prewar Comets and Hamptons
Two types of sailboat. The Hampton sailboat had nothing to do with New Hampshire, as Weisenburger suggests; it was created for the Hampton Yacht Club in Hampton, Virginia. The Hampton is also known as the HOD ("Hampton One-Design") and was created by Vincent "Pappy" Serio in 1934. This may be the origin of the name of Pynchon's character "Pappy Hod," the sailor who first appeared in V. and is referred to later in Gravity's Rainbow (p. 715 and p. 748), although Pynchon uses the name for other connotations.

185.25 pédalo
Paddle boat

Page 186

186.3 bombazine
a fabric originally made of silk or silk and wool, and now also made of cotton and wool or of wool alone

Page 187

187.39 He can see her face now, soft nose of a doe, eyes behind blond lashes full of acid green.
"Acid green" also makes an appearance in V and Vineland.

187.37 nessay-pah
American vocalization of the French phrase n'est-ce pas which translates as 'is it not'