Reading books, making note of words (or, rather, words being used in a way) that I don't understand and references that I "don't get," I would later write the words down in a notebook, promising myself that I would look up all of those that I had not yet looked up or merely ignored, either because they were not terribly important in understanding the text or were somewhat figured out via context clues. But I rarely did. So, yet another thing that I ideally would do manually on paper, I am doing electronically, online. After all, these potential footnotes could become real footnotes and as such would benefit whoever wants to use them by being more accessible and transferable. And I can type faster than I write manually, making the tedious process of looking up these words, expressions, and allusions less time-consuming and annoying (if not easier on the eyes).
For the most part, these potential footnotes apply to fiction works, or non-fiction that does not include its own references, such as memoirs, shorter essays, and propaganda. Non-fiction (or verity, to use the superior term devised by author Richard Rhodes that sadly never caught on) already featuring notes, bibliographies, or appendices could get expanded footnotes; or, if the notes are extensive enough, better indexes.
~
Woody Allen, Apropos of Nothing
p. 1: George Raft: actor known for portraying gangsters
p. 2: "smokes Corona Coronas": La Corona brand cigars; see: https://halfwheel.com/la-corona-corona/385920/
"did a big Brodie": a suicidal leap, named after Steve Brodie; see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Brodie_(bridge_jumper)
p. 3: Albert Anastasia: mobster, one of the founders of Murder, Inc.
Nathan Detroit: character in the play Guys and Dolls
p. 6: "Hopalong Cassidy" movies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopalong_Cassidy
p. 7: picklepuss: a person commonly found to have a sullen or gloomy expression
p. 22: momza: https://www.goodreads.com/questions/930292-what-s-a-momza
Billlie Burke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Burke
Spring Byington: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Byington
p. 24: "The poorer ones showed two films, five cartoons, a weekly serial like Batman, and a funny short if it was Robert Benchley and not Joe McDoakes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Benchley; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_McDoakes
p. 28: Cocillana: herb the bark of which is used to make medicine
mustard plasters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_plaster
p. 33: "Sam Levinson joke--'Maybe I don't know what you did to deserve it, but you do.'"
p. 34: "fell upon the fold"
p. 38: Passe Passe bottles: magic trick; see: http://geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php?title=Passe-Passe_Bottles
"the Miser's Dream": magic trick
p. 49: "the Road pictures": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_...
p. 50: Hindia Belanda: Indonesian-language for Dutch East Indies
p. 59: Brother Theodore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Theodore
p. 71: fumfer: to waffle, dither, temporize, stall; or mumbling to do so
p. 73: tsuris: trouble, distress
schnecken: a sweet bun of German origin, its name referring to the shape of the pastry resembling a snail
p. 75: "the Hodge conjecture": https://mathworld.wolfram.com/HodgeConjecture.html
p. 80: "the Khachatiurian [sic] Sabre Dance": referring to a movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayane [1942]
p. 83: tummler: see: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tummler
Alan King: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_King
p. 90: Evinrude: a company that built outboard motors for boats
Fibber McGee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibber_McGee_and_Molly
p. 91: "the Castellammarese War"
p. 92: coprolalia: involuntary use of obscene language caused by mental conditions such as Tourette's
p. 93: Once Upon a Mattress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Mattress
p. 108: "I can't really say I knew my en soi from my pour soi"
p. 137: Norfolk jacket
p. 142: noodge: pest, whiner--for this and others of Yiddish or Hebrew origin, see: https://jel.jewish-languages.org/
p. 146: on the arm: free of charge
p. 154: vontz: bedbug
p. 158: belt of the grape: to drink alcoholic beverages heavily and become drunk
p. 173: "ate like Primo Carnera"
p. 178: "minting snappers"
p. 179: "Good genes in the family. Award-winning protoplasm. Great-looking mother. Mandelbrot's similarity hitting the jackpot."
p. 184: hondle
p. 194: Holland rusk
p. 195: peracles
p. 196: merry-andrew
p. 205: Maybach: German car brand
p. 210: "Hokusai's Great Wave"
p. 215: tergiversate
p. 224: punim: face
p. 230: syzygy: see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syzygy_(astronomy)
"like Lepke getting the chair"
p. 244: "Turk con"
p. 248: "Madame Claude wink"
p. 259: bubbe-meise
p. 275: "rising like Lincoln ready to do his bit about no full moon, just a waning moon that night"
p. 285: sigmoid
p. 296: shekel: silver coin in ancient times; slang for any money
p. 307: "the bunco squad"
p. 322: the Jukes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukes_family
p. 343: nudnik: same as noodge
p. 352: profiteroles: cream puff, chou à la crème
p. 376: "in the hoosegow for"
p. 388: "hitting a Spaldeen two sewers": referring to play ball games in the street (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaldeen) using the distance between sewer manholes as a unit of measurement; see: http://stillabrooklynkid.blogspot.com/2011/08/games-we-played-spaldeens-and-sewers.html
~
Paddy Chayefsky, Altered States
p. 5: eidetic: pertaining to, or marke by, extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall of visual images
p. 21: Australopithecine: an australopith; any of various extinct apelike primates of the genus Australopithecus and related genera, remains of which have been discovered in south and east Africa. Some species are estimated to be over 4.5 million years old
sulci lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulcus_(neuroanatomy)
p. 29: caliper, or calliper: an instrument consisting of two hinged legs, used to measure thickness and distances
p. 31: lungi: a cloth, often of brightly colored silk or cotton, that is used as a piece of clothing, especially the traditional skirt-like garment of South Asia and Burma
p. 32: Oligocene:
p. 33: Cushing syndrome: a group of symptoms, including a puffy face, fat accumulation around the torso, fat loss from legs and arms, and easy bruising, resulting from elevated levels of cortisol in the bloodstream that are caused either by excess production of the hormone ACTH, as from an adrenal or pituitary tumor, or by administration of high doses of corticosteroid hormones. Cushing syndrome caused by a pituitary tumor is called Cushing disease
p. 40: patristic: pertaining to the fathers of the early Christian church or their writings
p. 47: verdigrised:
p. 51: vermiform: having the shape of a worm
p. 62: fractionate:
p. 63: menhir:
cromlech:
megalith: a large stone used in various prehistoric architectures or monumental styles, notably in western Europe between 5000 and 2000 B. C., for example at Stonehenge
thole: a pin, typically one of a pair, fitted to the gunwale of a rowboat to act as the fulcrum for an oar
blastula, or blastosphere: an early form of an animal embryo that develops from the cleavage of a fertilized ovum, consisting of a sphere of cells with a central cavity; the developmental stage that follows the morula stage
caul:
impasto:
p. 65: phlegethon:
pyroclastic:
lapilli:
p. 67: aliquot: of, relating to, or denoting an exact divisor or factor of a quantity, especially of an integer; 3 is an aliquot of 12
scintillation: a spark; a flash; in astronomy, the rapid variation in the light of a celestial body caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere; a twinkling; in physics, a flash of light produced in a phosphor by absorption of an ionizing particle or photon
p. 74: Ramapithecine: of or relating to an extinct hominoid of the genus Ramapithecus
p. 84: auscultate: to listen; specifically, in medicine, the act of listening for sounds made by internal organs, as the heart and lungs, to aid in the diagnosis of certain disorders
p. 113: prognathic: having jaws or mouthparts that project forward to a marked degree
p. 118: enfilade: gunfire directed along the length of a target, such as a column of troops; a target vulnerable to sweeping gunfire; or, in architecture, a linear arrangement of a series of interior doors, as to a suite of rooms, so as to provide an unobstructed view when the doors are open
p. 120: scree: loose rock debris covering a slope; a slope of loose rock debris at the base of a steep incline or cliff
p. 124: macadam: pavement made of layers of compacted broken stone, now usually bound with asphalt
p. 125: wattle: A construction of poles intertwined with twigs, reeds, or branches, used for walls, fences, and roofs; to wattle is to construct using such materials
blesbok: a South African antelope having a reddish-brown coat, curved horns, and a white mark on the face
p. 128: hartebeest: any of various large African antelopes of the genus Alcelaphus, having a tan to reddish-brown coat, a long narrow head, and ringed, outward-curving horns
p. 130: Rotterdam fence:
p. 134: assay: an analysis of a substance, especially an ore or drug
p. 145: accrete: to grow or make larger or greater; to increase in number
p. 153: bolus: a round mass; a single, relatively large quantity of a substance, such as a dose of a drug, intended for therapeutic use and taken orally
p. 177: cucullate: in botany, having the shape of a cowl or hood; hooded
~
Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter
Penguin Classics, Graham Greene Centennial Edition (1904-2004), 2004
p. 13: atabrine: a drug used to treat certain worm infestations and once used to treat malaria
p. 17: laterite: any soil produced by the decomposition of underlying rocks, esp. a reddish ferruginous soil formed in tropical regions.
p. 54: Coueism: a method of self-help stressing autosuggestion, introduced into America about 1920 by the French psychotherapist Emile Coué and featuring the slogan, “Every day in every way I am getting better and better”
p. 75: oleograph: a chromolithograph printed in oil colours to imitate the appearance of an oil painting
demon (card game): http://www.solitairecity.com/Help/Demon.shtml
p. 79: peine forte et dure: When a person was brought before the court in a witchcraft trial in America, he or she was first required to plead whether guilty or not guilty. No trial could proceed until the accused had so pleaded. By refusing to plead, the accused could prevent the trial altogether. To circumvent such an occurrence, the law provided a horrible punishment for anyone so obstinate. It was called peine forte et dure—"a penalty harsh and severe." It consisted of stretching the culprit out flat on his or her back, on the ground, with arms and feet extended to the utmost in all four directions. Heavy weights of iron and stone were then piled on the body until the accused either pleaded or was crushed to death. The common name for this was "pressing to death."
The only time in American history that this punishment was actually inflicted was during the witch trials of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. Giles Cory, accused in the hysteria of that time, knew that if he refused to plead, his trial would be balked and the authorities would be unable to confiscate his goods and estate, as they would be entitled to do if he were proven guilty. Giles therefore refused to plead and was subsequently put to the peine forte et dure. He died without speaking.
p. 109: "Cities of the Plain": a group of five cities that included Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis; a translated title of Marcel Proust's Sodome et Gomorrhe
p. 126: schwarmerei: excessive or extreme enthusiasm
p. 196: "acted Hotspur": hotspur meaning: an impetuous or fiery person; derived from Sir Henry Percy, known as Hotspur (1364-1403), an English soldier who was killed while leading an uprising against Henry IV
~
Aldous Huxley, Antic Hay
p. 3: caro nome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caro_nome_che_il_mio_cor
p. 7: swink: toil; drudgery
p. 11: Maillols: sculptor Aristide Maillol
Piazzetta: Giovanni Battista Piazzetta
p. 14: rachitic: affected with, suffering from, or characteristic of rickets
p. 21: steatopygism: more commonly, steatopygy or steatopygia: excessive fatness of the hips and buttocks
p. 31: Helene Fourment: second wife of Peter Paul Rubens
p. 58: stope against Stopes: to stope: to mine ore from steep or vertical veins via an excavation in the form of steps; Stopes presumably refers to Marie Stopes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Stopes)
p. 74: phthisical: relating to or afflicted with tuberculosis
p. 96: argal: "therefore"; commonly used to imply that the reasoning in question is specious or absurd
Caraccis with cubical muscles: the Caracci family (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Carracci)
p. 98: Pasiphae; Leda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasipha%C3%AB; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leda_(mythology)
p. 102: urim and thummim: sacred objects carried inside the breastplate of the high priest of ancient Israel and used as oracular media to divine the will of God.
p. 106: Maurice Barres: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Barr%C3%A8s
Zadig's quatrain to his mistress, when the tablet on which it was written was broken in two, became a treasonable libel on the king: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadig
coenobites of Thelema: alternate spelling of cenobite; Thelema is Alesiter Crowley's philosophy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema
p. 211: Hogarthian: referring to William Hogarth, painter and engraver
p. 237: cicerone: tour guide;guide for sightseers
p. 244: well at Carisbrooke: castle that still has a working donkey wheel; the well is noted in several literary works; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carisbrooke_Castle
~
Robert Macfarlane, The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot
p. 20: bindle-skiff:
p. 67: goby: small spiny-finned fish of the family Gobiidae, of coastal or brackish waters, having a large head, an elongated tapering body, and the ventral fins modified as a sucker
p. 71: estuarine: of or relating to estuaries; relating to a system of deep-water and wetland tidal habitats characterized by fluctuating salinity and, in intertidal zones, by the presence of trees, shrubs, and emergent vegetation.
lacustrine: of or relating to lakes
p. 77: in spate: a river, stream, creek, etc., running with a volume of water higher than usual
p. 87: thwart (noun): A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit; or a transverse strut in a canoe or other small boat
p. 92: periplus: a descriptive account of a voyage, esp of a circumnavigation
skald: A medieval Scandinavian poet, especially one writing in the Viking age
p. 100: hooley: a lively party
p. 105: skerry: a small rocky reef or island
p. 109: spinner: a fishing lure with a fin or wing that revolves when drawn through the water
mafic glass:
p. 131: neoprene: a synthetic rubber produced by polymerization of chloroprene and used in weather-resistant products, adhesives, shoe soles, sportswear, paints, and rocket fuels
p. 144: selkie: a creature or spirit in Scottish and Irish folklore that has the form of a seal but can also assume human form
p. 154: feldspar: any of a group of abundant rock-forming minerals occurring in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and consisting of silicates of aluminum with potassium, sodium, calcium, and, rarely barium. About 60 percent of the earth's outer crust is composed of feldspar
p. 155: machair: in the western Highlands of Scotland) a strip of sandy, grassy, often lime-rich land just above the high-water mark at a sandy shore: used as grazing or arable land
p. 158: sphagnum:
p. 162: hummock: a low mound or ridge of earth; a knoll
Corbelling:
p. 170: Graubelle:
baleen:
p. 185: siskin: any of several small finches, such as Spinus spinus, a greenish-yellow finch of Eurasia and northern Africa, or the pine siskin of North America
p. 272: dendrite: a mineral crystallizing in another mineral in the form of a branching or treelike mark; rock or mineral bearing such a mark or marks.
p. 277: chiasmic: the crossing or intersection of two tracts, as of nerves or ligaments
p. 278: hierophany: a manifestation of the sacred, as compared to a theophany
p. 360: carr: an area of bog or fen in which scrub, especially willow, has become established
neap: short for neap tide