parti pris - side taken, mind made up, bias; a preconceived opinion, prejudice
tout (fr) - all; whole + Toth's.
token - a sign arranged or given to indicate a person; something given as the symbol and evidence of a right or privilege
risible - having the faculty or power of laughing; inclined or given to laughter; laughable, ludicrous, comical + invisible + 'Visible Universe' of Aristotle and Aquinas.
haud (l) - not at all, by no means + you'd hardly find + FDV: In the risible universe where could one find
sulch - obs. form of such
extra + beforeness - priority, anteriority, pre-existence.
mit (ger) - with + ox, beef, meat, veal.
so viel (ger) - so much + FDV: Such prodigious advances with so much behind?
sind (ger) - are + your feet are enormous.
volume - a collection of written or printed sheets bound together so as to form a book (Wyndham Lewis was a voluminous writer with over 1500 pages in 1926-1928)
grace - an instance or manifestation of favour; a favour conferred on or offered to another
genus - Zool. and Bot. A classificatory group comprehending a number of species possessing certain common structural characteristics distinct from those of any other group.
worldwide - extending over or covering the whole world
species + FDV: Your genus unbordered is _______ your spaces sublime
Samaritan - fig. (freq. in full, good Samaritan) with reference to the 'good Samaritan' in Luke x. 33; also transf., a kind and helpful person + saltamartino (it) - grasshopper.
beat time - to mark musical time by beating a drum, by tapping with the hands, feet, a stick, etc., by striking the air with a baton; also fig. to keep time with + FDV: But Holy Saltmartin, why can't you beat time? / In the risible universe where could one find / Such prodigious advances with so much behind? / I pick up your reproof as the gift of a friend / For the prize of your save is the price of my spend / Your feats are enormous enormers, Your volumes immense, / (May the Graces I hoped for give sing your Ondtship songsense).
latter - the second of two or the second mentioned of two: opposed to former
holocaust - a sacrifice wholly consumed by fire; a whole burnt offering + 'In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen' (blessing).
exposition - the action or process of setting forth, declaring, or describing, either in speech or writing + explosion + FDV: — You have Could you, of course, dear Shaun, read this [strange] language in the letter for his majesty?
farflung - 'flung', 'cast', or extended far or to a great distance
folklore - the traditional beliefs, legends, and customs, current among the common people + focloir (fuklor) (gael) - dictionary, vocabulary + Loire river, France.
velklingende (Danish) - euphonious + velk- (Pan-Slavonic) - big- + tingeling (Danish) - onomatopoeia like 'ding-dong'.
vocabulary + volupty - pleasure, delight + Volapük - artificial language.
chi vive sperando muore cantando (it) - he who lives hoping dies singing + qui (l) - who + qua (l) - as far as.
foible - a weak point; a failing or weakness of character + fabler - a writer of fables or apologues.
flip - a forward or flippant person
Wandervogel - a member of the German youth organization founded by H. Hoffmann at the end of the 19th century for the promotion of out-of-door activities, esp. hiking, and folk culture, as a reaction against the materialistic values of middle-class city life.
wail - fig. A bitter lamentation + Father O'Flynn (song): 'O, Father O'Flynn, you've that wonderful way with you'.
Europa - sixth moon of the planet Jupiter, and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites
frisky - given to frisking; lively; playful + Frisky Shorty (ALP).
treacle - to flow as treacle, to trickle (humorous nonce-use.)
tumtum - an imitation of the sound of a stringed instrument or instruments, esp. when monotonously played + Treacle Tom (HCE).
tingtang - a succession of two ringing sounds, differing in tone or force + TINTAGEL - Village and castle, North coast of Cornwall, ruins still visible. In literary legend, it was the birthplace of King Arthur and the stronghold of King Mark. But Finnegans Wake associates it mainly with the Cornish language.
blarney - smoothly flattering or cajoling talk. (Colloquial.) Also, nonsense + best
blather - voluble talk void of sense
Cornwall + Father O'Flynn (song): 'in all Donegal'.
lettre - the French word for 'letter' + leitreachan (let'rekhan) (gael) - one frequenting wet hillsides + leprechaun = leipreachan or luchorpan (gael) - "active little body": One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them + (small man of letters).
anaglyptics - the art of carving in low relief, chasing, embossing, etc.
Shem + letters patent - an open letter from a person of authority granting someone a right to do something.
Majesty + His Most Christian Majesty - a style for addressing the King of France + HCE
plosively - of or pertaining to a plosive (consonantal sound in the formation of which the passage of air is completely obstructed and then suddenly released, as in the sound (p) in pit or (d) in dog) + FDV: — Yes I, replied Shaun, have cd play it. It is awful in its handwriting. A piece of scribble.
cinnamon - the inner bark of an East Indian tree, dried in the sun, in rolls or 'quills', and used as a spice; cinnamon-coloured
quist - obs. variant of whist (silent) + quisquiliae (l) - rubbish; fragments, twigs + *IJ* + Rigoletto: Questa o quella (song): 'this one or that one' → Duke sings of a life of pleasure with as many women as possible (Questa o quella - "This woman or that"). He has seen an unknown beauty in church and desires to possess her, but he also wishes to seduce the Countess of Ceprano. Rigoletto, the Duke's hunchbacked court jester, mocks the husbands of the ladies to whom the Duke is paying attention → "Well, I have looked into my accounts. I find this wrong and this wrong. But, with God's grace, I will rectify this and this. I will set right my accounts." (Grace)
astrolabe - an instrument formerly used to take altitudes, and to solve other problems of practical astronomy + lobe of his ear (acoustic) + (notebook 1924): 'pen behind ear *V*'.
nobly - in that manner which is involved in noble breeding, connexions, or descent + William Shakespeare: Julius Caesar V.5.68: 'noblest Roman'.
writingpen - a pen suitable or adapted for writing
larynx - a cavity in the throat with cartilaginous walls, containing the vocal cords, by means of which sounds are produced + thank Saint Laurence (O'Toole, patron of Dublin).
letters patent - an open letter or document, usually from a sovereign or person in authority, issued for various purposes, e.g. to put on record some agreement or contract, to authorize or command something to be done, to confer some right, privilege, title, property, or office; now, especially, to grant for a statutory term to a person or persons the sole right to make, use, or sell some invention + Joyce's note: '*V* potent (patent)'.
Sem (fr) - Shem + same + Semitic languages are written from right to left (i.e. backwards) + know (something) backwards - to know (it) extremely well or 'inside out'.
Oscan - a name given to the Italic dialects of central and southern Italy, used by the Sabellian peoples who displaced or absorbed the Osci + Oscar Wilde
Perse, St John - pen name, as Mr Wilder says, of Alexis Leger, 20th-century French poet + ancient Persian.
translating + ludere (l) - to play.
Ottoman language + OTTOMAN EMPIRE - Sultanate of the Osmanli Turks, replaced 1920 by the Republic of Turkey.
Coptic language + James Joyce: James Clarence Mangan: mentions Mangan's use of phrases such as 'from the Ottoman' and 'from the Coptic'.
at the tips of one's fingers - ready to be performed or executed
draught - the drawing of liquid into the mouth or down the throat; an act of drinking, a drink; the quantity of drink swallowed at one 'pull'; fig. The 'drinking in' of something by the mind or soul, a portion of something, pleasurable or painful, 'drunk', partaken of, or experienced.
buttle - to pour out (drink) + bottles
oyes - a call or exclamation of 'Oyez!' ('hear, hear ye') + eyes
alas - an exclamation expressive of unhappiness, grief, sorrow, pity, or concern + hélas (fr) - alas + Hellas (gr) - Greece.
Hebrew - the Semitic language spoken by the Hebrews, and in which most of the books of the Old Testament were written
corn - a horny thickening of the skin, usually on or near a toe, resulting from pressure or friction + on the cards - within the range of probability + (on the feet).
callous - erroneous spelling of callus (a localized thickening and enlargement of the horny layer of the skin)
associated themselves with her remarks (Joyce's note) → Connacht Tribune 12 Apr 1924, 3/7: 'Ballinasloe Court': 'the magistrate referred to the transfer of Sergeant Gill from Ballinsaloe to Achill, and paid a well-deserved tribute to the efficient manner in which he had discharged his duties during his service in Ballinasloe, and wished him good luck. - Superintendent Byrne associated himself with the justice's remarks, and Sergeant Gill, in reply, suitably returned thanks'.
theodicy - the branch of theology that defends God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil; a writing, doctrine, or theory intended to 'justify the ways of God to men' + The Odyssey.
re - in the matter of, referring to
purloin - to make away with, misappropriate, or take dishonestly; to steal, esp. under circumstances which involve a breach of trust + REFERENCE
notepaper - paper of the various sizes and qualities now generally used for correspondence
prescription - directions prescribed beforehand; written or explicit direction or injunction + description.
P.G. - Postmaster General; Please God
juxtaposition - the action of placing two or more things close together or side by side, or one thing with or beside another; the condition of being so placed
Indeed it is not a nice production (Joyce's note) → Connacht Tribune 17 May 1924, 3/4: 'Ballinasloe Mental Hospital': (of a letter accusing the hospital of not reinstating an attendant because he was a Republican) 'Mr. Curley: It is a scurrilous letter. - Fr. Dunne: Indeed, it is not a nice production'.
pinch - as much of something (esp. snuff) as may be taken up with the tips of the finger and thumb; hence fig. a very small quantity + (notebook 1924): 'piece of scribble'.
scribble - something hastily or carelessly written, esp. a depreciatory term for a letter (usually one's own); also, a worthless or trivial composition
Kabis (Swiss German) - cabbage
overdraw - to exaggerate or overdo in drawing, depicting, or describing
puffed - inflated or bombastic in language or style; inflated or swollen with vanity, pride, etc.
offal - refuse, waste + awful
tosh - pretentious or silly talk or writing + perfectly awful trash.
actionable - subject or liable to an action at law; of such a character that an action on account of it will lie + auction - to sell by auction.
libel - Law. Any published statement damaging to the reputation of a person. In wider sense, any writing of a treasonable, seditious, or immoral kind + Cain and Abel.
clerical - of or pertaining to a clerk or penman; esp. in clerical error, an error made in writing anything out
et omnibus (l) - and for all
secondclass matter - (U.S.) postal matter consisting of periodicals sent from the office of publication; now replaced by second-class mail (not restricted to the U.S.): mail sent at the lower of two rates [(notebook 1924): 'entered as 2nd class matter'].
Charles Lucas book burnt (notebook 1931) → Hall: Random Records of a Reporter 223: 'Dr. Charles Lucas, one of the members for Dublin in the Irish parliament - he whose books were burned by the order of the House of Lords, but whose courage brought about the Constitution of 1782'.