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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

cr#232;che (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.

maypole – a high pole decorated with ribbons, flowers, etc., set up in the open for dancing round on May day, the first of May, celebrated in England as a spring festival

belly-splitting charge – the leap taken by the old bull in charging the young one, which ended in his hurting his belly (note the author's device of alluding ironically to current idiomatic expressions, here to side-splitting laughter or ear-splitting noise)

bulbous – shaped like a bulb, an enlarged, spherical termination of stem in certain plants, such as the onion, tulip or lily

cul-de-sac ['kulde'saek] (Fr.) – a passage or street with an opening at one end only, from which there is no escape

tinamu (or tinamou) [ti'na:mu:] – a South American bird resembling a quail (a game bird of America, Europe, Asia and Africa, also called partridge)

Darwin's rhea – a South American three-toed ostrich

school crocodile – a long line of schoolchildren walking by twos

to pace, v. t. – to set the pace for another rider or runner in a race

bonnet – the hood protecting the engine of a motor-car

windfall – an unexpected piece of good fortune (literally, something blown down by the wind, especially fruit) -

sea-front (or water-front) – a street or a part of town facing the sea; Bournemouth – a popular English seaside resort

Tierra del Fuego (Sp.) - "Land of Fire", a group of islands separated from the south end of South America by the Strait of Magellan. Its farthest point is Cape Horn.

The verb to fret is used here in its special, architectural meaning: 'to decorate with pattern carved in relief.' The author means that the stones were irregular in shape, but irregular artistically.

with a jaundiced eye – here suspiciously, with some irritation (from the noun jaundice, a disease accompanied by yellow-

ness of the skin and of the whites of the eyes; figuratively, a stale of mind in which one is spiteful, irritable or suspicious)

to make the best of a disaster – to try and got along as best one can, in spite of a disastrous state of things

trippers (from trip 'a short journey') – people on an excursion; the word is often used contemptuously (e. g. "at week-ends the beach is crowded with noisy trippers")

abandon, n. - careless freedom

Turkish bath – here a building where Turkish baths are taken. A Turkish bath is a hot air or steam bath followed by soaping, washing, rubbing, kneading, massaging, etc. Added to the dropsy and the quiet concentration of chess players, the atmosphere of a Turkish bath helps to convey the impression of complete inactivity and sleepiness.

the Leaning Tower of Pisa ['pi:ze] – one of the famous sights in Italy: the white marble bell-tower, 178 feet in height, which leans 14 feet off the perpendicular

the Acropolis – the citadel of Athens, Greece, situated on a hill about 250 feet high and richly adorned with architecture and sculpture (especially in the 5th century B. C.)

barrage balloon – one of a series of balloons used to form a barrier against enemy planes

stop-watch – a watch with a hand that can be stopped or started by pressing a knob on the rim; a stop-watch is used for timing a race, etc.

rather him than me – I wouldn't do it; let him, if he likes

there was quite a colour variation – there was a considerable variation in color (note the current colloquial construction with quite a)

algae (sing. alga) – the Latin name of a large group of lowly organized plants, including the seaweeds and similar weeds found in stagnant or slow-flowing fresh water

to take to the air – to go suddenly up into the air

to show oneself to advantage – to allow to see one at one's best, in such a way as to bring out one's strong points

the animation of a group of opium smokers – no animation at all (opium smoking has the effect of reducing the smokers to a state of insensibility); cf. the Turkish bath simile on p, 75

concertina -a musical instrument with hollows, resembling a small accordion

morale – the mental state or condition of a body of men, especially of an army; the word is generally used in the meaning of 'high morale', i.e. courageous, determined conduct despite danger and privations

gargantuan – enormous, gigantic (from the name of Gargantua, a giant in Rabelais^’ book Gargantua and Pantagruel)

the final straw – the last straw, the final circumstance that makes the situation unbearable (the allusion is to the proverb ^("lt is the last straw that breaks the camel's back")

maggots – the larvae of a cheese-fly (or cheese-mite), a small mite infesting cheese

twilit, a. - dimly illuminated, as by twilight

to rev up – to cause the engine to run quickly when first starting (the word was first used as a colloquial abbreviation of revolve)

Jujuy [d3u:'d3ai] – the northernmost province of Argentina, with a capital of the same name

Sophie – the author's secretary

to minister unto (or to) – to give aid or service; to look after

to make tracks for a certain place (colloq.) - to go directly towards it

precious (colloq.) - very (cf. pretty in a similar use)

lassoo ['laesu:] – variant of lasso, a long noosed rope of un-tanned hide for catching cattle, etc.

pernicious anaemia – lack of blood, unhealthy paleness. This introduction of a medical term into an elaborate paraphrase describing the faint electric light is highly typical of Durrell’s verbal humour: he likes to spice his descriptions with scientific-sounding words.

buenas noches (Sp.) - good evening

she twitched and mumbled her way into sleep – she twitched and mumbled until she fell asleep; she fell asleep twitching and mumbling

all twenty stone of her – the whole of her enormous person (the author estimates the woman's weight at about 20 stone, or 127 kg: see also note to p. 19)

Here we find an interplay of the two meanings of the verb crown: the hat actually crowned the woman's head, and the expression to crown this means 'to give a finishing touch to the whole'.

this breath-taking horticultural achievement – a reference to the woman's hat decorated with an abundance of artificial fruits and flowers

at a saucy angle – at an angle that gave her a smart, stylish and slightly impertinent look

a lavaflow of chins – a great number of chins resembling a stream of lava flowing from a volcano

buenos dias (Sp.) - good day, good morning

to hoick out – to lift or hoist, especially rapidly or with a jerk

to let her sex down – to fail in upholding the glory of her sex

to qualify – here to modify a statement, to make it less absolute (the word is generally used when speaking about a severe or unpleasant remark)

short of jumping out of the window – except jumping out of the window

terrific (colloq.) - most wonderful, thrilling

magnum ['maegnam] – a bottle containing two quarts of wine (2.25 liters)

tarmac – here a part of airfield covered with tarmac (short for tar-macadam, a layer of broken stone mixed with tar, used as road-surface)

old world – old-fashioned

hydrangea – a bush with large clusters of white, blue and pink flowers

praying mantis – an insect of a kind that holds its forelegs in a position suggesting hands folded in prayer

a coffee = a cup of coffee

medialunas {Sp.) - small cakes of half-moon shape

mudguard – a metal cover for the wheel of a motor-car, to stop mud as it flies up

media hora (Sp.) - literally, the middle hour, i.e. a break for rest in the middle of the day

molar – a molar tooth, a double tooth with a wide surface Herculean task – a task requiring the strength of Hercules, like one of the Twelve Tasks (or Twelve Labors) of the famous hero of Greek mythology

on the last leg – in the final stage

by and large – on the whole

Durrell compares the country covered with cacti (pi. of cactus) to a typical surrealist landscape (e. g. one by Salvador Dali, Spanish painter, leader of surrealist school), where you can see all sorts of strange, distorted plants, gigantic cacti among them.

largesse (archaic) - a generous gift bestowed by a great person

foyer ['foiei] – here hall

prot#233;g#233;e (Fr.) - a woman who is under the care of another person

en route (Fr.) - on the way; here during the trip

to look somebody up (colloq.) - to pay an informal visit to somebody, to call on somebody

The author means that the woman, her son and the rest of the family were all so stout that, standing side by side, they looked like the front of a huge building made of fat.

that lay cupped in a half-moon of mountains – that lay surrounded by a semi-circular range of mountains, as if in a cup

viridescence – greenishness, the adjective viridescent being a bookish synonym for green

parakeet ['paereki:t] – a long-tailed bird of the parrot family, of small size and slender form

sloe-coloured – the color of the sloe, small, blue-black, plumlike fruit of blackthorn

bloom – the grayish powdery coating on various fruits, as the plum, grape, etc. and on some leaves; this word, applied as it is to sloe-colored human eyes, is highly appropriate here

nave – the part of a church from the inner door to the choir; it rises higher than the aisles flanking it and is often separated from them by an arcade

riot – here abundance, profusion, great quantity

gin-and-tonic – the usual mixture of gin (a strong alcoholic drink made from grain) with some tonic, i.e. stimulating beverage (e. g. Coca-Cola)

the usual run – the usual collection

Que lindo… que bicho mas lindo! (Sp.) - How beautiful… what a beautiful animal!

humming-birds – a group of very small, brightly colored birds with a long, slender bill and narrow wings that vibrate rapidly and make a humming sound in flight

station-wagon – a motor-car with folding or removable rear seats and a back end that opens for easy loading of the luggage, etc.

exuding good-will and personality – trying his best to look friendly but stern (the noun personality here is used in a combined meaning of 'personal charm' and 'strength of character')

a red-fronted Tucuman Amazon – a red-breasted parrot of central and South America

acquisitive – greedy, betraying the wish to acquire the parrot

to play one's trump card – to make use of one's best weapon (or argument) for gaining one's end

Como te va, Blanco? (Sp.) - How are you, Blanco?

Madre de Dios (Sp.) - Mother of God, the Virgin Mary

hijo de puta (Sp.) - son of a whore

Como te va, como te va, que tal? (Sp.) - How are you, how are you, how are you getting on?

estupido, muy estupido (Sp.) - stupid, very stupid

to run to earth – to hunt down, to find by search

guan [gwa:.n] (Sp.) - a large game-bird of Central and South America

onomatopoeic – imitative in sound (in linguistics the term is used to indicate a word formed in approximate imitation of some sound, e. g. tinkle, buzz, etc.)

to go – here to assume

Lorito – the common Spanish name for a parrot, the same as Polly in English

gringo (Sp.) - a foreigner, especially an Englishman or an American: a term current in South America

coral snake – a small, poisonous snake with coral-red yellow and black bands around its body, found in the south-eastern United States and in subtropical America

Old School tie – a necktie with a special pattern worn by former pupils of some particular English public school. The habit of wearing this kind of tie is to the author an indication of an excessive respect for one's social position, a sort of snobbery which he finds (together with the tie itself) revolting: see also p. 165.

a dewy-eyed expression – a very innocent and gentle one (dewy is a poetical word for eyes wet with tears)

Geoffroy's cat – a variety of wild cat discovered by Estienne-Louis Geoffroy (1725-1810), a famous French zoologist

seraphic – angelic

to leave somebody to his own devices – to allow him to do as he likes

tyro ['taierou] – a beginner, an inexperienced person

gato (Sp,) - a cat

chico gato montes (Sp.) - a small mountain cat

conundrum – puzzling question or problem; a mystery

with fourteen Martians in tow – followed by fourteen imaginary inhabitants of the planet Mars

loco (Sp.) – mad, crazy

tabby – the common type of domestic cat, grey with dark stripes (the name is usually applied to a female cat)

takes the edge off his potential viciousness – makes him less vicious. Literally, the expression means 'to make blunt': e. g. to take the edge off a knife; but it is also widely used figuratively, meaning 'to make less sharp or keen: e. g. to take the edge off an argument.

Lifemanship – the art of living, of coexistence (a word coined by analogy with penmanship 'the art of, or skill in, writing')

outboard engine (or motor) – a small internal-combustion engine with a propeller, fastened to the stern of a small boat and producing a loud noise

debauched (from debauch, v.) - dissipated, given to intemperance (as excessive eating or drinking)

by virtue of your grasshopper-like activities – owing to the way you keep rushing from one place to another (again Durrell chooses an elaborate, scientific-sounding mode of expression, with by virtue of and activities)

frond – the usual name for a palm leaf (or that of a fern)

you could do worse than go and investigate – you might just as well go and investigate

the time off – here a leave of absence

to get into one's stride – literally, to begin walking with long and measured steps; figuratively, to be carried away in some process (e. g. of talking)

semi-inebriated – half-drunk, half-intoxicated (a bookish word)

to sport - here to wear or exhibit, especially in great quantities

Durrell means that the wagon-driver's moustache was allowed to grow without any hindrance, as plants are in a nature reserve.

blancmange (Pr.) - a sweet jelly-like dessert made of a starchy substance and milk, sugar and almond

mucha agua (Sp.) - much water

in next to no time – very quickly, almost instantly

to play a fish – to let a fish tire itself out while hooked by tugging at the line

que pasa? (Sp.) - what has happened?

nafta no hay (Sp.) - there's no fuel

our nether regions – the lower part of our bodies (nether - jocular for lower, under, as in nether garments)

in his shirt-tails – without trousers, in his shirt only (this humorous expression is a cross between the two idiomatic phrases:

in one's shirt-sleeves 'without a coat' and in one's tails 'in full dress, in a dress-coat')

to roar into life – to come to life with a roar (an engine roars when being started up)

water hazard – here an obstacle in the form of a river (the term comes from golf, where the word hazard means 'any obstruction in playing a stroke, including bunkers, traps, ponds, roadways, etc')

apron – here a shield made of some hard material and placed below a dam or across a river-bed to protect it from damage by water

purchase – here a mechanical advantage, a fast hold

to nose – here to push or move with the nose or front forward

to stall – of an engine, to stop working (from overload, etc.)

Fairy Godmother – a good fairy from fairy tales, who appears quite unexpectedly at the very moment she is badly wanted and helps her god-child out of trouble (e. g. in the tale of Cinderella). Being a fairy she can appear in different disguise, hence the authors description ("heavily disguised…").

took in our predicament in a glance – understood at once our awkward situation (in a glance = at a glance)

An ironical reference to the Duke of Wellington's (1769- 1852) military preparations before the battle of Waterloo (1815), where his army defeated Napoleon

to quarter – here to pass over an area of ground in every direction in search of game (the word is usually applied to hunting-dogs)

bibulous – addicted to alcoholic liquor, to drinking; in this roundabout way the author describes invitations to differ-ent drinking-parties

jardin zoologico (Sp.) - a zoological garden, a zoo

the well of the house – a shaft in a building or between buildings, open to the sky for light and air; airshaft

yellow-naped macaw [me'ko:] – a large, bright-colored, harsh-voiced parrot of Central and South America

Brazilian rabbit – a burrowing rodent of the hare family, smaller than most hares and having soft fur, long ears, and a bobbed tail (the rodents are characterized by constantly growing incisors, or cutting teeth, adapted for gnawing or nibbling; on this group of mammals see also p. 119)

agouti – a rodent of the guinea-pig family, the size of a rabbit; orange-rumped – having an orange-colored rump, i.e. posterior (including the buttocks)

nervous breakdown – a state of extreme depression

patio ['paetiou] (Sp.) - a courtyard or inner area open to the sky, common in Spanish and South-American architecture

accoutrement – personal outfit or equipment; when used in the plural, the word generally means military outfit

to relieve – here to make less monotonous, to brighten

canary-yellow – a light yellow color, like that of a canary bird, a small yellow song bird, native to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores

to take kindly to something – to get easily accustomed to something

capybara – the largest of now existing rodents, a tailless, partially web-footed animal that lives in and around lakes and streams in South America

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 I'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)

toukan, or toucan – a brightly colored, fruit-eating bird of tropical America, distinguished by a large, down curved beak

fungi – any of a group of plants, including mildew, molds, mushrooms, rusts and toadstools that have no leaves or flowers, and reproduce by means of spores

Venetian glass – fine glassware made in or near Venice

The author means that the gloomy and sinister landscape would have been a suitable place for the meeting of the three witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

anti-coagulant – a substance that prevents coagulation of blood

ticks – a large group of wingless insects that attach themselves to the skin of men or animals and suck their blood

birds of a feather flock together – a proverb which means that people with the same characteristics or tastes gather, assemble together

to stalk – to get close (usually to game) cautiously and noiselessly, without being seen, heard, or winded; the figure of a stalking Red Indian is familiar from numerous American works of fiction (e. g. novels by James Fenimore Cooper)

tree-snake – a variety of grass-snake, a small non-poisonous snake, having a very beautiful coloring of yellow, green and black with metal gleam, and living in trees and brushes

dropping (usually pl.) - dung of animals

lovesick swain (poet.) - a country youth hopelessly in love, so much in love as to feel sick or unhappy

boudoir ['bu:dwa:] – literally, 'a place to sulk in', from Fr. bouder 'to sulk'; formerly, the name was applied to a lady's private sitting-room or dressing-room, now it may mean any small private room, or even, as here, a bedroom (usually ironical)

Here we find an interplay of the two meanings of the noun extremity: 1) pl. 'the hands and feet'; 2) 'an extreme measure'.

The author speaks of this part of his anatomy as if it were some sort of food, like, say, "frozen leg of mutton" (note the absence of article).

Scott, Robert Falcon (1868-1912) – English naval officer and explorer, leader of two Antarctic expeditions, in the second of which he reached the South Pole (18th January 1912). Scott himself and the rest of the Pole party perished on the return journey.

overdraft – a withdrawal of money from a bank in excess of the amount credited to the drawer; the amount withdrawn in excess

the National Debt – the result of different credit operations of the state to get money necessary for meeting the expenditures which are not secured by the national income

rabies ['reibi:z] – an infectious virus disease of the central nervous system in dogs and other flesh-eating animals; it can be transmitted to man by the bite of an infected animal and is characterized by choking convulsions, inability to swallow liquids, etc.; it is fatal if not treated immediately (also called hydrophobia)

a rake-off (U. S. slang) - a commission or profit, especially when received in an illegitimate transaction

a whole-time job – a job that takes up all your time

The author means that the sum amounted to a fantastically big figure, reminding one of what a light-year stands for (a distance of approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles that light travels, in one year). The Astronomer Royal – the Royal Astronomer Society in England.

there was nothing for it – there was nothing to be done pigeon-toed – with the toes turned inwards by the hour – for hours on end

scent gland – a special kind of gland of certain animals, as skunks, coatimundis and others, producing a substance with an offensive smell; it serves them for marking their territories and as a means of defence

having… hoisted the coatimundi equivalent of the flag – having marked his territory to show that it was occupied (this is what a hoisted, i.e. raised, flag usually shows)

within range – a military expression, where range means 'firing range', 'range of a shot'

to lord it over somebody – to rule over somebody, to act in an overbearing, dictatorial manner

Durrell invents this name in imitation of other children's games.

let alone – not to mention, to say nothing of

douroucoulis – genus of monkeys, the family of capuchin: a South American monkey with a whitish face and a hoodlike crown of black hair

a stick of rock – i.e. of rock candy, hard sweetmeat made of sugar

nothing loath to leaving – quite willing to leave

aviary ['eivjari] – a large cage for keeping many birds

fly-blown – full of flies' eggs and larvae; hence dirty, contaminated

cabinet – a case with drawers or shelves to hold (or house) small objects of art, jewels, etc.

unicorn – a fabulous animal resembling a horse with a single twisted horn, chiefly known from its heraldic representation (facing the lion) in the British royal arms; Piccadilly – a fashionable street in London, between Haymarket and Hyde Park Corner

are not two a penny – are not too common, are not so easy to find. The expression comes from a street-pedlar cry, preserved in the following old nursery-rhyme:

Hot-cross buns!

Hot-cross buns!

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot-cross buns!

The words care of (or, in short, c/o) are placed on the envelope before the name of the person who is expected to transmit the letter to the actual addressee (for instance, if the latter is staying in his house).

sleeper – any of the parallel crossbeams to which the rails of a railroad (the track) are fastened

the train crash of the century – the most sensational train crash of our age; of the century has become quite a catch-phrase: in the newspapers one reads of the murder of the century, of the museum-robbery of the century, and even of the winter of the century (said of an unusually cold winter)

a Western film, often called simply a Western (the same as a Wild West film) – in U. S. A. cinematography, a motion picture about the adventures of cowboys or frontier men in the far West of the United States during its so-called "early period of lawlessness", i.e. the beginning of the 19th century

cowcatcher – a metal frame on the front of a locomotive to remove obstructions from the tracks

The author spent the earlier part of his life in Greece, hence his knowledge of the language.

to run to earth – here to find after a long search (a hunting term used jocularly; cf. other instances of its use on pp. 99, 121)

forty-odd cages – more than forty cages;

the word odd when mentioned in round numbers, means 'additional to a whole'

to come into one's own – to start performing one's duties

to doll up (colloq.) - to dress carefully and stylishly or showily Martin Fierro - an epic poem by Jose Fernandez, a well-known poet of Argentina

Bosun ['bousn] = boatswain, the ship's officer who is in charge of the crew, the boats, rigging, etc.

pale into insignificance – become insignificant, seem of no importance

full of beans (sl.) - full of energy, lively, brisk, vivacious

to husband – here to economize, to spend thriftily

the Great Fire of London – the fire that destroyed the most part, of London in 1666

beautifully appointed – very nicely furnished

at the double – at a run, at double speed

a whacking great shot (sl.) - a very big dose

kill or cure – here a remedy that would either cure a patient very quickly or kill him

for all I knew – as far as I knew

allergic to something – having an allergy, not able to stand something (allergy – a hypersensitivity to a specific substance, such as certain foods, dust, etc., or condition, as heat or cold, which in similar amounts is harmless to most people)

she's right out – she has passed out, i.e. lost consciousness

terrific (colloq.) - wonderful, magnificent

"hostesses" – a euphemistic name for the local prostitutes

port of call – a harbour where merchant ships discharge and take in cargo; figuratively, a place regularly visited by someone

to stand someone a drink – to treat to a drink

carnavalitos (Sp.) - gay songs

pobrecita (Sp.) - poor thing

she never looked back – she never returned to her previous bad state

by leaps and bounds – very quickly, with very rapid progress

porcine – pertaining to or characteristic of pigs (cf. equine charges on p. 27, feline tribe on p. 121)

The Pit and the Pendulum - a story by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), American poet, critic and prose writer. The main personage who tells the story was sentenced to death by the Spanish inquisition and thrown into a dark dungeon, where he lay bound hand and foot, with dozens of rats running all over his body.

to pull somebody round – to cause somebody to recover from an illness, to save

despachante (Sp.) - a Customs official who is in charge of dispatching, i.e. sending off goods

We had twenty minutes to go. – We had twenty minutes at our disposal.

stop press – the latest news inserted in a special-column of a newspaper after printing has begun