Pages 174-177

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 174

174.19 golliwog
The Golliwog or Golliwogg is a blackfaced African American caricature created in the late 1800s. It is relatively unknown in the United States, but was historically very popular in Europe. Since the 1960s, the doll has become the subject of a great deal of controversy, with Europeans attempting to decide whether it is a valuable cultural artifact or a racist insult.online dictionary

Golliwog was also World War II British naval slang for a Gauloise cigarette, which had tobacco which was nearly black in colour.

The American rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival was known as "The Golliwogs" and under this name they released a number of singles before the 1970s.

In unofficial military parlance of some countries which has become less common nowadays, the term was used to indicate a piece of equipment that has been tuned, upgraded, and possibly customised to the point where it is no longer similar to the stock item it started as. The term stems from the fact that although the Golliwog itself was black – its standard form was featureless in a sense – it was always represented as decorated smartly with, for example, ribbons and bows. It could be said to be found always dressed up in finery; no Golliwog was ever seen dressed conservatively.
Golliwog [[1]]

Page 175

175.13-14 ...the Tommy...the Jerries...
Tommy is a slang reference to British soldiers; Jerries is British slang for German soldiers or Germans in general; the two nouns in the song allude to the famous cartoon series Tom & Jerry. [[2]]

polythene, adj., also known as "polyethelyne" or "polyethene", a common thermoplastic.

staccato, n. musical term meaning detached or not connected, with the musical notation being small dots above or below the notes. Staccato is the opposite of slurred. The sound of the crowd's staccato singing possibly mimics the sound of a machine gun, referenced in the lines directly above.

175.35 she [Penelope] can see the crocheted shawl
The most famous Penelope, of course, is in The Odyssey, Odysseus' faithful wife who spent his time away weaving a shroud..and unweaving it at night.

Page 176

176.1 refraction
time-forward allusion to a major element of Against the Day?

176.38-39 Quisling molecules
'traitorous molecules'; Quisling refers to Vidkun Quisling (1887–1945), a Norwegian fascist leader who collaborated with the Nazis and is regarded as Norway's most notorious traitor.

Page 177

177.27-28 Hark the herald angels sing: Mrs. Simpson's pinched our King...
A schoolyard reworking of the Christmas carol. The second line refers to Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer, then Simpson (1896-1986), an American who married Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII. Edward abdicated the throne in order to marry this twice-divorced commoner.