The Whispering Land - Durrell Gerald (книги без регистрации бесплатно полностью TXT) 📗
unlikely – here not likely to be met with in this family
The author has in mind the well-known reconstruction of an ancient horse skeleton. The ancient horse had five toes; four of them were in time reduced and disappeared.
a hump-behind – a behind with a hump on it (a word formed by analogy with hump-back)
ague – here fit of shivering
nightcap (colloq.) - an alcoholic drink taken just before going to bed
at the crack of dawn – at break of day, very early in the morning
to fan out – to spread out in several directions (in fan-shape), a word usually applied to the movement of troops after a breakthrough
seriema – a crested Brazilian and Argentinean
bird of the crane family, with gray and amber coloring and long legs and neck
coatimundi [,kouti'mundi] (or coati) – a small, flesh-eating mammal of Central and South America, resembling a raccoon (see the next note), but with a long flexible snout
raccoon – a small, tree-climbing, flesh-eating mammal of North America, active largely at night and characterized by long, yellow-black fur, black masklike markings around the eyes, and a long, black-ringed tail
M. I. 5 – in England, the section of Military Intelligence which deals with matters of State security
ocelot ['ousilot] – a large wild cat of North and South America, with yellow or gray hide marked with black spots
to date – up to that time
council rubbish dump – the place in a city where rubbish is deposited (the word council here means 'local administrative body of a city, town or district')
flotsam and jetsam – worthless things, rubbish, trash (originally, flotsam was a term of naval law, meaning wreckage found floating on the sea, while jetsam meant goods thrown overboard to lighten a ship in distress)
the point of no return – a poetical paraphrase for death
character rendering – here personal remarks, personalities
fifty-fifty – equal, even
marquee [ma:'ki:] – a big tent with open sides, especially one used for outdoor entertainments
professional – here a professional actor, one belonging to the theatrical profession, often called colloquially the profession (especially among actors)
puma – a long-tailed, slender, tawny-brown animal of the cat family, found in North and South America (also called mountain lion)
that bad (colloq.) - in such a bad state
trestle-table – a table made up of movable planks supported by a pair of trestles, special wooden frames consisting each of a horizontal beam with diverging legs
heel-taps – here the rhythmic sound made by the heels of the dancers
they had sung themselves from the heavens back to earth – they had passed the peak of their singing enthusiasm, which sounded like heaven to their listeners, and began to relax, as if coming hack to earth
vampire – in folklore and popular superstition, an evil spirit which enters a corpse that leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons; hence vampire bats – several species of tropical American bats, which live on the blood of animals
Luna's godfather – i.e. Luna himself, the man after whom the puma was named, as children are often named after their godparents
charmed – seemingly protected from harm as though by magic
collared peccary – a pig-like mammal of tropical America, about three feet long, greyish, with a white collar and sharp tusks
to have a soft spot for somebody – to have a weakness for somebody, to be unreasonably fond of somebody
an Eton collar – a broad, white linen collar, worn with a short black coat of a pupil of Eton college (an old public school for boys from privileged classes at Eton, near London)
retrousse [re'tru:sei] (Fr.) - turned up at the tip
I allowed her the run of the place – she was allowed to run free all about the place
ambrosial – delicious, fragrant like ambrosia (the food of the Gods and immortals in Greek and Roman mythology)
out of this world- a current expression meaning 'heavenly', i. e. 'not belonging to the ordinary world'
gourmet – a person who is expert in the choice of food and wine
to make sure of something – to act in such a way as to be certain of something (as here, to do everything to prevent the puma getting out of the cage)
Pegasus – in Greek mythology, a winged horse which sprang from the body of Medusa at her death. With a blow of his hoof he caused Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon; he became therefore the symbol of poetic inspiration. Durrell thinks of Pegasus because of the queer shape of the horses' saddles.
By using the word-combination bony steeds, Durrell creates a comic effect. The adjective bony looks and sounds much like the old poetic word bonny (or bonnie) meaning 'beautiful, handsome' and well-known from Scotch popular ballads, where it often went together with the poetic steed for horse.
to press-gang – to force into service, from press-gang, n. - a group of men who round up other men and force them into naval or military service
earth-shaking – Durrell uses the word ironically, meaning that their conclusion was anything but original or unexpected
epiphyte ['epifait] – a non-parasitic plant that grows on another plant but gets its nourishment from the air, as certain orchids, mosses, and lichens
orchid ['o:kid] – an epiphyte plant often growing on trees; its flowers, especially those of tropical varieties, are of very bright colors
liana – any luxuriantly growing woody tropical vine that roots in the ground and climbs around tree trunks
sure-footed – not likely to stumble, slip, or fall
macabrely – in a macabre, i.e. horrible or ghastly way
gooey (sl.) - sticky as glue
as I ducked and twisted my way – as I made my way twisting and ducking (by twisting the author means that his path in the undergrowth changed its direction all the time, and by ducking, that he had to jerk his head or the whole body downwards to avoid the blows of the branches)