design - a preliminary sketch for a picture or other work of art, a delineation, pattern; the artistic idea as executed
put one's foot in it - to do or say something esp. unintentionally that distress or offends another person; to get into difficulties or trouble; to blunder + never put a tooth in it (Anglo-Irish phrase) - speak out clearly.
snoopery - the activity of snooping or prying; surreptitious investigation, spec. into another's private affairs + FDV: So in the present case cases which bears bear all the earmarks of a plot. [There is in fact no use putting a tooth on it a thing of that sort and the amount of that sort of thing which was going was simply stupendous.]
day in day out - as each day comes in or begins, and goes out or closes; continually
Nacht (ger) - night + Tag (ger) - day.
promiscuous - indiscriminate in sexual relations
in rebus publicis (l) - in states, in republics; in public affairs
secular - having a period of enormous length, continuing through long ages + saeculorum sequentia (l) - the sequence or continuity of the centuries + per omnia saecula saeculorum (l) - for ever and ever.
sequence - a continuous or connected series
stupendous - amazing, astounding; amazingly large or great
exultations - shouts of joy, joyful utterances
triumphant - that has achieved victory or success, conquering, victorious + Acrostic: FUTUETE! (l) - fuck! + (presented by).
resume - to go on again with (a discourse, discussion, remark, etc.)
inquiry - the action of seeking, esp. for truth, knowledge, or information concerning something; investigation, examination
postal union - an international agreement to observe uniform regulations governing international mail + (notebook 1924): 'postal union' → Gallois: La Poste et les Moyens de Communication 270: 'l'Union postale universelle' (French 'the International Postal Union').
carrier - a bearer of a message, letter, etc.
Letters Scotch Ltd (notebook 1924)
Vercingetorix (d. 46) - Gallic chieftain who revolted against Julius Caesar
hight (Archaic) - called
det er (Danish) - that is
losel - a worthless person, scoundrel, good-for-nothing
huck - intr. To higgle in trading, to haggle over a bargain; to chaffer, bargain + huck- (ger) - squat + hawks.
missive - a written message, a letter
gummy - gum-like, sticky, viscid + (postal stamps).
chain envelope - a business envelope that may be reused many times + chain mail - armor made of interlaced rings (esp. in use by Vikings).
divers - various, different + John O'Donovan on J.C. Mangan: 'One short poem of his exhibits seven different inks'.
blanch - white, argent + blanchissage (French) - laundry
lavender - the colour of lavender-flowers, a very pale blue with a trace of red + lavandière (French) - washerwoman.
pothook - an "S" shaped stroke in writing + pot, pan.
crook - a hook or bent iron on which anything is hung; a bending or curve, a convolution + hook, crook.
bespeak - to speak of, to indicate, give evidence of + spaking (Anglo-Irish Pronunciation) - speaking.
washerwife - washerwoman, laundress
superscribe - to write (a name or address) upon a letter; to write one's name at the head of a document: opposed to subscribe + FDV: Next morning postman handed him a letter superscribed to Humphy Pot and Gallows King.
subscribe - to put oneself down as so-and-so, at the foot of a letter or other document + pencil - to write with pencil.
laughable - that may be laughed at
afterward + after-wit (Archaic) - wisdom after the event, hindsight + After (ger) - anus.
S.A.G. (St Anthony Guide), written on an envelope carries a letter safely through the mails.
hyde = hide; name of the evil personality assumed by Dr. Jekyll in R. L. Stevenson's story, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886): used allusively in reference to the evil side of a person's character + hide and seek - applied to action in which one person or thing evades or appears to evade another.
Edenberry, County Offaly + Edinburgh.
WC - water closet; the west central postal district of London
Lappish - of or pertaining to the Lapps or their language + lapsus linguae (l) - a slip of the tongue.
inburst - a bursting in, irruption
Magyar - of or pertaining to the Magyars, or to the language of the Magyars + Maggy/Madge/Majesty (The Letter).
Siamese twins - two male natives of Siam, Chang and Eng (1811-1874), who were united by a tubular band in the region of the waist. Hence gen., any pair of twins physically united by their tissues.
twixt - between
stern - the hind part of a ship or boat + Swift/Sterne (motif).
swift - one of a pair of shrouds, fixed above the other shrouds, for swifting or stiffening a mast
Jolly Roger - the pirate's flag (white skull and crossbones over a black field)
bright - to make bright, illumine
plunge - immerse, submerge, enter into some state or course suddenly or unexpectely
plight - undertaking (of a risk or obligation), pledge (under risk of forfeiture), engagement
Percy French: Are Ye Right There Michael (song): 'You may talk of Columbus's sailing / Across the Atlantical sea, / But he never tried to go railing / From Ennis as far as Kilkee... Are ye right there, Michael? Are ye right? / Do you think that we'll be there before it's light? / Oh, it's all depending whether, / The oul' engine holds together, / But it might now, Michael, / So it might!'
cox - coxswain (the person on board ship having permanent charge of a boat and its crew, of which he has command unless a superior officer is present) + cock
Hahn (ger) - cock, rooster + Madame Blavatsky, well-known 19th century spiritualist, née Hahn-Hahn or von Hahn was married twice (for short periods of time) without actually divorcing her first husband (from whom she escaped) in between.
poke one's nose - to poke or pry into something, esp. the matter which does not properly concern one
Owenkeagh river, County Cork (from Irish Abhainn Caoch: Blind River) + Kevin.
Kurbis (ger) - pumpkin + Kyrgyz or Kirghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan. Genetically it is most closely related to Altay and more distantly so to Kazakh.
pouch - a mail-bag
litter - odds and ends, fragments and leavings lying about, rubbish
lurk - to remain furtively or unobserved about one spot, to live in concealment or retirement
dormant - sleeping, lying asleep or as asleep, inactive as in sleep
paunch - the stomach
herm - a statue in the form of a square stone pillar surmounted by a bust or head usually of the god Hermes (very common in ancient Greece, where they were used as pillars, sign-posts, mile-stones, etc.)
pillarbox - a hollow pillar about five feet high, erected in a public place, containing a letter-box or receptacle for posting letters
FDV: This fender coffin, mistaken for a fender, had been removed from hardware premises a noted house of the east which as an ordinary everyday transaction supply funeral requisites of all descriptions. (Here Caracciolo & Nelson)
illusionist - one who produces illusions; spec. a conjuror or sleight-of-hand performer + (notebook 1923): 'triumph of printer's art'.
blench - a turning of the eyes aside, a side glance (rare.) + at first hand - at the beginning, at the first stage.
Jubal and Tubal Cain - Jubal was "father of all such as handle the harp and organ"; Tubal was "instructor of every artificer in brass and iron" (Genesis, 4.) Their brother Jabal was father of those who live in tents and have cattle.
handwarp - a kind of cloth + hard work
distinguish + tris- (l) - thrice + Tristan.
juba (l) - mane + Genesis 4:20: (Lamech, Cain's descendant, had three sons) 'Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle... Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ... Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron'.
hardware - small ware or goods of metal, ironmongery
premise - the place of business of an enterprise or institution
OETZMANN AND CO - Cabinet makers and house furnishers, 60-61 Grafton Street.
noted - distinguished, famous
gone west - dead
rattenkahl (ger) - quite bare
oscar - money, cash
flash - dashing, staggering, swell
lily - white or fair as a lily, lily-white