Gloss 0102

Chapter 1 — Section 2
	UK	US-h	US-p
Pages	14-25	19-29	9-20
POV	Mr Mack
Where	up to Ballygihen House, back to Macks' home
When	Wednesday late morning, May 5 1915

Fenianeen — diminutive of "Fenian": loosely, as used here, any Irish nationalist of "advanced" or "militaristic" opinion. ((fenian: "a rebel, patriot; a Catholic, a nationalist" – Slanguage.)) (("the candidate should be a safe man, one who would support 'the party,'—not a cantankerous, red-hot semi-Fenian, running about to meetings" – Trollope, Phineas Finn, 1869.)) Fenians
rateable value — (("value ascribed to a property for the purpose of assessing the rates to be levied on it" – OED.)) In plainer words, the houses become richer-looking as he advances.
mum-mim-mom — later explained as mimosa. >
paddy whacks — ((paddywhack: "an Irishman"; also: "a rage, passion, temper" – OED.)) (("a stout brawney Irishman" – Grose 1811.)) …

"A Country Recruit" caricature, 1800

"I'm Paddy Whack, from Ballyhack,
Not long ago turn'd soldier;
In storm and sack, in front attack,
None other can be boulder."

— quoted as "Irish Song" in JC Hotten, The Slang Dictionary, 1873.
boys ... bugles ... bayonets — their army career together, i.e. from being army boys through buglers to "bayonets" (("a synonym of 'rank and file,' that is, privates and corporals of infantry" – Brewer 1898.))
rang like bells ... — ? chimed together, in the sense of being agreeable. all we wanted was hanging — punning "hanging bells" and "hanging criminals". (("agree like bells, they want nothing but hanging": colloquial verging on proverbial – Partridge HS.)) Mr Mack's and Mr Doyle's thoughts upon each other seem to circle the notion that one or the other or both should be hanged. cf "by any stretch" Prologue <; "never your neck", Ch1.1. <
from Rank Marks of the British Army – Boy's Own Paper, 1883
first stripe — his first promotion, here to lance-corporal. ((stripe: "chevron ... that indicates rank" – Collins.))
scarlet and blue — colours of the regimental uniform.
light of bright and other days — reference to the song "Oft in the Stilly Night", by Thomas Moore, 1815, which Mr Doyle will sing in Chapter 3.2. ("Sad memory brings the light | Of other days around me".) ♫♫
hatches, matches, dispatches — newspaper column of births, marriages, and deaths. ((journalistic – Partridge HS.)) The front page of newspapers then was usually reserved for announcements and advertisements.
Roll of Honour — here, a newspaper column reporting war casualties.
scapular — a devotional adornment worn by Catholics, often as a protection against temptation or evil. ^
borrowing trouble — going out of one's way to meet trouble. ((OED.))
Jacobs! — a minced oath for "Jesus!" ("based on the name of a well-known Biscuit manufacturer in Dublin" – DHE.))
two dee — two pennies. (Mr Mack had paid for the newspaper with a threepence coin.) one and thruppenny — costing one shilling and threepence.
Evening Mail — Dublin evening newspaper. ^
Ballygihen House — from the descriptions a mixture of someplace real and someplace imagined. ^
on me — the meaning is "to my disadvantage" rather than "on my head". IE
G.A Dunn & Co., bowler hat
Dunn's three-and-ninepenny bowler — from Dunn & Co, the Strand, London hatters. (("This make being the best of the lower-priced hats" – Partridge HS.))
the sea oh the sea, long may it be — ? an echo (or, given the period, a presentiment) of the song "The Sea Around Us" by Dominic Behan, written in the 1960s. ♫♫
view and vantage them both — both pleasant to look at and commanding a pleasant view.
RMS Munster, one of the four mailboats to England
mailboats — the passenger boats that plied between Kingstown and the British ports, carrying the mail. ^
area and steps
area steps — steps leading to the "area". ((area: "sunken court, shut off from the pavement by railings, and approached by a flight of steps, which gives access to the basement of dwelling-houses" – OED.)) The area usually constituted the servants' entry.
slavey — maid-of-all-work, general maid. (("esp. one who is hard-worked" – OED.)) (("... the young woman who did the work of the house, and who was known by the name of Betty to her mistress, and of 'Slavey' to Mr. Morgan" – Thackeray, Pendennis, 1850.)) (("... she told me she was a slavey in a house in Baggot Street" – Joyce, Dubliners, 1914.))
showing leg — revealing a part of her leg as she worked.
Athlone — a town in County Westmeath located close to the geographical centre of Ireland.
masonic — ? here meaning "secretive" (? from the Catholic suspicion of Freemasonry).
The War Illustrated, October, 1914
for larger view click bottom-right
Aldershot — a town in Hampshire in southern England where the British Army maintained a large permanent camp.
Parnell's home, Avondale, Co Wicklow, 1880 — a typical "big house" of the gentry
big house — a mansion. ((OED.))
(("the 'Big House,' as an Irish country gentleman's residence is termed" – Carleton, "Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, Vol 3, 1833.))
(("the gentry have gone and the big houses are in ruins, or empty or sold to nuns and monks, who are the only people who can afford to live in fine houses" – George Moore, Hail and Farewell, Vol 3, 1914.))
crack — fun, mischief. ((for the crack: "for fun" Anglo-Irish – OED.)) In this sense almost certainly an anachronism.
divil-may-care — IE rendering of ((devil-may-care: "careless and rollicking" – OED.))
minx — a pert girl. ((OED.))
cod-acting — playing the fool. ((cod: "a joke, a fool" – DILR.)) (("In IE, emphasis is on deception, deceit or stupidity rather than practical jokes" – Slanguage.))
desperate — (("very bad" – Slanguage.)) The "the" ("it's the desparate shame") is one of those peculiarities of IE.
ownest — very own. ((OED.)) (("crushing her soft body to him, and love her, his ownest girlie, for herself alone" – Joyce, Ulysses, 1922.))
cutting a fine dash of a thing — (("to cut a dash is to get one's self looked at and talked about for a showy or striking appearance" – Brewer 1898.))
general — short for "general maid". ((OED.)) <
gigglepot — ? somebody who giggles and twitters. The word doesn't appear in any dictionaries.
Recruitment poster, WW1
rights of Catholic Belgium — Belgium, a largely Catholic country, had been invaded by Germany at the start of the War. In consequence in Ireland the "major propaganda arguments for joining the British army focused (for southern Catholics) on defending the Catholic nation of Belgium ..." – Donnelly, Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture, 2004.
dandyprat — (("a person physically, socially, or morally very insignificant" – Partridge HS.))
consideration — a reward, remuneration. ((OED.))
spit of a walk — short distance. ((a spit and a stride: "a very short distance" – OED.))
look-see — inspection. ((Partridge HS.))
hand-me-down — second-hand (clothes, etc.) ((low colloquial – Partridge HS.))
pledge-shop — pawnshop. ((pledge: "to pawn" – OED.))
Clydesdale — breed of draught horse. bait-sack — ? presumably a nose bag from which to feed. ((bait: "a feed for horses" – OED.))
loafer — idler. ((Farmer 1904.))
holding up the corner — (("satirical description of a leaning idler" Anglo-American – Ware 1909.))
nipper-squeak — the squeak, or high-pitched call, of a young boy. ((nipper: "a boy, esp. if under say 12" – Partridge.))
tram had passed — it appears trams at this time made small deliveries. (("Among other facilities offered by the D.U.T.C. [Dublin United Tramway Company] was the Parcels Express, which operated from 1883 to 1940" – Dublin Tramways.)) (("Can you send them by tram? Now?" – Joyce, Ulysses, 1922.))
Adelaide Road — probably named after Queen Adelaide, consort of King William IV (reigned 1830-37).
ree-raw — rough, riotous, noisy. ((Anglo-Irish – OED.)) ((ex Irish rí-rá "hubbub, uproar" – Slanguage.))
Weston and Darewski, "Sister Susie", sheet music, 1914
Sister Susie's sewing shirts for soldiers — popular wartime "novelty" song by Weston and Darewski, 1914. ♫♫
quare — IE rendering of "queer", here meaning "unusually". (("strange, odd, peculiar, memorable" – DILR.))
neck — (("implying insolent speech or presumptuous behaviour, esp. in phrase 'to have a neck'" – OED.)) ((hard neck: "extreme impudence" Anglo-Irish; from ca 1870 – Partridge HS.))
making mouths — making (("derisive grimaces and noises with the mouth" – OED.))
chancer — opportunist. (("a crafty person who would try anything to get an advantage over someone" – DHE.)) shaper — one who puts on airs, shows off. (("with connotations of aggression" – Slanguage.))
take them in charge — arrest them. ((OED.))
no licence for singing — public houses were (and are) required to have a licence for singing on the premises.
Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae ...
Angelus bell not rung — not yet noon. Angelus
Sawney — Scottish lowlands variant of "Sandy" short for the masculine name "Alexander". Here, presumably, a shortened version of "Alexandria", though this usage is nowhere reported. The OED gives three further meanings: 1. derisive nickname for a Scotchman; 2. a simpleton, fool; 3. slang bacon.
gas — gas lighting.
font — small basin hung by the door containing holy water. Font
keep tabs — to keep an account. ((OED.))
Straits of Ballambangjan — (("straits as imaginary as they are narrow" nautical colloquial – Partridge HS.))
(("A sailor's joke for a place where he may lay any wonderful adventure. These straits, he will tell us, are so narrow that a ship cannot pass through without jamming the tails of the monkeys which haunt the trees on each side of the strait; or any other rigmarole which his fancy may conjure up at the moment" – Brewer 1898.))
find harbour — find refuge.
on tick — on credit. ((OED.))
bills — advertisements, flyers. ((OED.)) American paper — ? unknown. gross — (("twelve dozen" – OED.)) fine as rashers of wind — ? very thin. ((rasher: "thin slice of bacon" – OED.)) Canon — a large type in printing. ((OED.))
Mr. A. Mack, Esqr. — Mr Mack here both assumes a dignity (Esqr, short for Esquire, "a man belonging to the higher order of English gentry" – OED) and forfeits it ("Esqr" supersedes "Mr" and may not be used in connection with it). ^
Will Comfort Our Troops — will go towards providing comforts for soldiers.
topper — (("an action, remark, etc., that puts a finishing touch to what has gone before, esp. an outrageous one or one that cannot be capped" – OED.))
the hookum — the correct thing. ((army colloquial. Ex Hindustani hukam – Partridge HS.)) (("'that's the hookum' an old Army colloquial term" – Fraser & Gibbons, Soldier & Sailor Words, 1925.))
Save On Leather — save on shoe-leather (i.e. by shopping locally).
swells — the upper classes. ((swell: "a lady or gentleman of the upper classes" – Partridge HS.)) smells — ? the lower classes.
exeunt two biddies — two biddies leave (theatrical). ((biddy: "meddlesome old woman" abbrev. of "Bridget" – Slanguage.))
fate accomplished — a misrendering of French fait accompli.
puffed out — tired out. ((puffed: "put out of breath by exertion" – OED.))
General Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, GCB, KCMG, KP, GCIE ... born Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland
kitchener — a kitchen range. (("cooking-range fitted with various appliances such as ovens, plate-warmers, water-heaters, etc" – OED.))
blacking — the application of black-lead (polish for cleaning and shining ironwork.) Zebra — a brand of black-lead.
hero who avenged Khartoum — Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, known as "Kitchener of Khartoum". ^
Findlater's, George's St, Kingstown
"Under the Findlater's Clock" was for years the rendezvous for Dun Laoghaire's patient lovers.
Findlater's — a large "genteel" grocery store in nearby Kingstown.
his treat — his (birthday) present.
I'll be sugared — minced oath, "I'll be buggered". ((Partridge HS.))
Grecian bends — properly Grecian bend: (("the body bent forward in walking: a Society vogue of ca 1872–80. The term long outlasted the craze" – Partridge.)) (("An affectation in walking, with the body stooped slightly forward, assumed by English ladies in 1875. The silliness spread to America and other countries which affect passing oddities of fashion" - Brewer 1898.))
brown titus — a misrendering of "bronchitis".
font wants filling — is in need of replenishing with holy water.
Methody — a Methodist. ((Slanguage.)) ((dialect and semi-literate colloquial – Partridge.)) (("You've been getting yourself preached at by them ranting Methody folks on the green" – Messenger of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1880.))
cheeses — minced oath, "Jesus!"
pucker — excellent. ((Anglo-Indian colloquial Ex Hindu pakka, "substantial" – Partridge HS.)) This is a British Army usage: in Ireland the usage would be rare.
Brougham
brougham — a one-horse closed carriage. ((OED.)) It's hard to see why a bishop in particular would have a brougham. ((Wikipedia.))
hock — properly "to pawn" ((OED)). Here meaning "to sell" or "to hawk".
keeping the home fires burning — reference to the patriotic wartime song by Ivor Novello, "Keep the Home Fires Burning (Till the Boys Come Home)", written 1914. ♫♫
tippy — ((of tea: "containing a large proportion of the 'tips' or leaf-buds of the shoot" – OED.))
Darjeeling — a high-quality tea. ((Collins.))
carriage-trade — trade from the wealthy part of society. ((Collins.))
holy show — (("source of scandal, embarrassment, esp. in 'make a holy show of oneself'" – Slanguage.))
stepping out — ((step out: "to accompany or walk out (with a person of the opposite sex); to consort (with a lover)" – OED.))
Camellia sinensis (the tea plant), illustration from "Kohler's Medicinal Plants", 1887
Assam ... pekoe ... souchong ... oolong — varieties of tea.
dabs just nipping the counter — ? fingers, hands just reaching the counter. ((dab: "a flattish mass of some soft or moist substance dabbed or dropped on anything" – OED.)) ((dabs: "fingerprints" 1926 – Routledge Slang.))
bedouin — presumably in the sense of ((street Arab: "a homeless little wanderer; child of the street" – OED.)) ((bedouins: "the homeless street poor are so called" – Brewer 1898.))
saucer of jam — ? enough, but no more, jam to fill a saucer.
slum-rat — ? child of the slums.

Glasthule