hornet - fig. An enemy that attacks persistently and with virulence; esp. in phr. 'hornets' nest'.
harness - uniform, clothes; fig. Routine of daily work.
nullity - the fact of being legally null and void, invalidity. In law: One declaring a marriage null ("The respondent not having entered an appearance or put in any defence in the nullity suit; ...They introduced into it words respecting the original nullity of the King's first marriage.")
femina (l) - woman + family hold back - jocular command to leave enough food for guests.
hold back - to keep back; to restrain; to reserve from disclosure
the race is to the swift - people who can easily deal with life’s troubles always have the advantage over the others
romp - to move, cover the ground, easily and rapidly; to play, sport, or frolic in a very lively, merry, or boisterous manner
jompe - obs. ff. jump
Satan and Saint Michael
whey - watery, pale + Milky Way.
sawdust - wood in the state of small particles, detached from a tree, plank, etc. in the process of sawing + white and yellow - colours of the papal flag.
overdress - to dress to excess; to dress with too much display and ornament
underclothed - half-clothed, inadequately clothed
Popo (ger) - posterior + Poscht (Swiss) - post-office + Ppt.
forsake + forget me not.
hope + where there's life there's hope (phrase).
whisht - an exclamation enjoining silence: Hush!
blesht (Irish Pronunciation) - blest
jook - cheat, dodge + dine with Duke Humphrey - to go dinnerless.
dripping - the fall of liquid in drops; concr. the liquid so falling; fat from roast meat
dumple - to bend or compress into a dumpy shape + tumble.
beefkid (Nautical) - a small wooden tub in which salted beef was served + Fire Down Below (song): 'Fire in the galley, fire in the house, Fire in the beef kid, scorching the scouse' (a sea shanty).
scouse = lobscouse (Nautical) - a sailor's dish consisting of meat stewed with vegetables and ship's biscuit, or the like + (notebook 1931): 'beefkid scouse'.
ad libitum - at one's pleasure; to the full extent of one's wishes, as much as one desires
lassitude - the condition of being weary whether in body or mind, weariness + latitude.
comtesse - a French title of rank, of which the English form is countess
cantilene - a song, a melody + Cathleen, Countess - title heroine of Yeats's play, who sells her soul to the devil so that starving Irish can be fed. The Irish found this an insult to Ireland and rioted at the Abbey Theatre + Caitilin (kat'ilin) (gael) - fem. personal name from Greek Katherine + Cantilene (song from John McCormack's Repertoire).
mavis - the song-thrush, Turdus musicus
toffee - toffee-coloured, medium brown + Mephistopheles - evil spirit to whom Faust sold his soul.
separated + soprano + superannuated husbands (gospels).
die (ger) - the
inimitable - incapable of being imitated; an inimitable person
pursuit - the action of pursuing, chasing, or following, with intent to overtake and catch or kill, a fleeing object, as a hunted animal or an enemy + Wilde on fox hunters: 'the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable' + pure suet.
taucht - obs. f. taught, pa. tense and pple. of teach (v.) + taucht (ger) - dipped, submerged.
mouthful - a quantity that fills the mouth + fellatio (in ancient Greece and modern Japan, fellatio has been referred to as "playing the flute").
white pudding - a pudding made of milk, eggs, flour, and butter + (sperm).
rosmarine = rosemary - a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves + Rose Marie (song from John McCormack's Repertoire).
Lady Dufferin: Lament of the Irish Emigrant (song): 'I'm sitting on the stile, Mary... And the red was in your lips, Mary, and the lovelight in your eye'.
pet - to stroke or caress in an erotic manner (as during lovemaking)
rollingpin - a roller or cylinder of wood, glass, or other material, for rolling out dough or paste to the required thickness for pie-crusts, etc. + rollingpin (Slang) - penis.
Thomas Moore: Irish Melodies: song Rich and Rare Were the Gems She Wore [air: The Summer is Coming] + (notebook 1923): 'Isolde - rich & rare - poor Ireland'.
hum - An inarticulate exclamation uttered with the lips closed, either in a pause of hesitation or embarrassment, or as expressing slight dissatisfaction, dissent, etc.
jewel (Slang) - vulva
to be cracked about - to be infatuated with
flitty - flitting, unstable, flighty + pretty few + A Ballynure Ballad (song): 'This cordial that ye talk about there's very few o'them gets it'.
sable - black
stole - a long loose garment + stable stalls.
runabout - a small light horse-vehicle or motor-car + (notebook 1922-23): 'runabout (car)'.
ring - a ringing sound or noise + song
lech - to behave lustfully, to feel or to be lecherous
soandso - Used euphem. as a term of abuse for a person; Also, with weakened force, as a term of affection + So and so (motif).
divulge - to make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
console - a table supported by a fixed bracket against a wall; key-desk of organ (case or frame enclosing an organ's claviers, draw-knobs etc.)
Doran's ass Balaam's [ass] (Joyce's note) → Balaam is the classic example of a person who knew the right way, but rejected it to pursue the Frantic Search for Happiness of worldly lusts. Balaam, in his coveteousness, continues to press God, and God finally gives him over to his greed and permits him to go but with instructions to say only what He commands. Balaam thus, without being asked again, sets out in the morning with the princes of Moab and God becomes angry that he went, and the Angel of Jehovah (Numbers 22:22) is sent to prevent him. At first the Angel is seen only by the donkey Balaam is riding, which tries to avoid the otherwise invisible Angel. After Balaam starts punishing the donkey for refusing to move, it is miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22:28), and it complains about Balaam's treatment. At this point, Balaam is allowed to see the angel, who informs him that the donkey is the only reason the Angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repents, but is told to go on.
vox humana (l) - human voice (organ stop) + When it came to the actual cursing, God "turned his tongue" so that the Balaam's cursing fell upon his own people (Balaam was a famous diviner from the region of Babylon) and the blessing upon Israel. Then his tongue came out and hung down on his breast. Finally, he advised his people to adorn and beautify their women and to send them out to ensnare the Israelites.
swell organ - a group of stops forming part of an organ, capable of producing crescendo or diminuendo effects through a swell pedal
great organ - the chief group of stops in an organ, for producing powerful tones
clench - to grasp firmly, clutch
warm to - to become interested in, acquire zest for + Joyce's note: 'warmed to it her'
Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn 11: 'a power of'
kinetics - the branch of dynamics which investigates the relations between the motions of bodies and the forces acting upon them; opposed to Statics, which treats of bodies in equilibrium.
buel - obs. form of bowel + bowl
gruel - a light, liquid food made by boiling oatmeal in water or milk, sometimes with the addition of other ingredients, as butter, sugar, spices, onions, etc.
gob - Slang for the mouth, and to spit ("gob on").
undress - partial or incomplete dress; dress of a kind not ordinarily worn in public + address
lap whelps (notebook 1924)
slieve (Anglo-Irish) = sliabh (Irish) - mountain
Tuck, Friar - one of Robin Hood's merry men
roller - a prostitute, esp. one who robs her customers
tanned - that has been rendered brown or tawny, esp. by exposure to the sun + goddamned.
sexappeal - sexual attractiveness + The Peeler and the Goat (song): 'They met a goat upon the road and took him for being a-strolling, O'.
upshot - the extreme limit; the result, issue, or conclusion (of some course of action, etc.) + upsidedown - turned upside down; inverted.
pig's cheek + Shakespeare.
trifle with - to treat with a lack of seriousness or respect; to 'play' or dally with
roundling - a variety of apple + (breasts).
proffered - offered for acceptance
glass - a drinking-vessel made of glass; hence, the liquor contained, and fig. drink
marrying - inclined or likely to marry + marry in haste, repent at leisure (proverb).
take out - to give vent to, utter