terracotta - a hard unglazed pottery of a fine quality; a brownish red of various shades + terra (l) - earth, land, ground + concussa (l) - shaken + terra concussa (l) - shaken earth + Kuss (ger) - kiss + Sainéan: La Langue de Rabelais I.296: (16th century military rite of kissing the ground and throwing earth over the left shoulder before charging the enemy) 'l'acte de baiser la terre... une marque d'obéissance passive envers un supérieur... l'expression de l'humiliation chrétienne' (French 'the act of kissing the earth... a sign of passive obedience to a superior... the expression of Christian humbleness').
worse luck - unfortunately
flung - p. of fling
home plate - Baseball. The plate at the apex of the diamond at which the batter stands, and which must be touched by the base runner before a run is scored + Plato (b. 427 B.C.) - Greek philosopher + homoplatys (gr) - equally flat all over.
all the while - during the whole time
philophoseia (gr) - love of light + Sainéan: La Langue de Rabelais I.304: 'la forme filofol, équivoque analogue à la fine folie, pour philosophie' (French 'the form filofol, an equivocal analogue of a fine madness, for philosophy').
forsake - to abandon, leave entirely, withdraw from + Sainéan: La Langue de Rabelais I.303: 'le terme saige-fol... répondant à celui de morosophe, épithète... que Rabelais donne à "l'unicque non lunaticque Triboullet"' (French 'the term saige-fol... corresponding to morosoph, epithet... that Rabelais gives to "the unique not lunatic Triboullet"') (i.e. French sage-fol: a wise fool, a jester).
please the pigs - please the fates, if circumstances permit, if all's well
Strick (ger) - rope, halter + Joyce's note 'strictly between ourselves this will never do'.
that will do - that is sufficient
frow - woman, wife, housewife
flair - liking, taste, enthusiasm
Fell (ger) - skin + Sainéan: La Langue de Rabelais I.387: 'Cette locution escorcher le renard, pour rendre gorge à la suite d'un excès de boisson... Ecorcher la peau d'une bête aussi mal odorante provoque tout simplement la nausée... To spew, cast, vomit (especially upon excessive drinking)... En anglais... to flay the fox' (French 'This expression to flay the fox, for vomiting after an excess of drink... flaying the skin of such a bad-smelling animal simply provokes nausea... To spew, cast, vomit (especially upon excessive drinking)... In English... to flay the fox').
fetor - a strong offensive smell, stench
calamite - a fossil plant, of which the stems are found in jointed fragments + calamus (l) - reed, cane; reed-pen + Sainéan: La Langue de Rabelais I.118: 'Calamite, pierre d'aimant... de l'ital. calamita' (French 'Calamite, lodestone... from the Italian calamita').
columis (l) - unhurt, safe + columitas (l) - safety
calamitous - disastrous, distressful; full of distress, affliction, or misery.
scrutinize - to examine methodically and with close attention + FDV: Who that in scrutinising marvels at the indignant whiplashloops, the so prudently bolted and or blocked rounds, the touching reminiscence of an incomplete trail or dropped final, the gossipy threadreels, the whirligig glorioles which ambiembellish the majuscule of Earwicker, the monology of its the interiors, the pardonable confusion, owing to which at times the swollen pees with their caps awry are quite often as not kews with their tails in their mouths, the sudden petulence of a capitalised middle, the curt witty dashes never quite at the truth letter.
indignant - inflamed at once with anger and disdain + Sullivan, The Book of Kells 1: (beginning of introduction) 'Its weird and commanding beauty; its subdued and goldless colouring; the baffling intricacy of its fearless designs; the clean, unwavering sweep of rounded spiral; the creeping undulations of serpentine forms, that writhe in artistic profusion throughout the mazes of its decorations; the strong and legible minuscule of its text; the quaintness of its striking portraiture; the unwearied reverence and patient labour that brought it into being; all of which combined go to make up the Book of Kells, have raised this ancient Irish volume to a position of abiding preeminence amongst the illuminated manuscripts of the world'.
whip - the instrument of flagellation + loop - something having the shape of a loop, e.g. a line traced on paper, a part of a written character + lash - a stroke with a thong or whip.
prudently - with prudence, circumspection, discretion, or practical wisdom; discreetly, wisely.
bolted - closed and fastened with a bolt, fettered
reminiscence - an expression, feature, fact, etc., which recalls something else.
round - approximately correct, exact only to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, ... + (notebook 1924): 'a round 100l' (i.e. £100).
whirligig - to whirl or spin round + whirligigs (Slang) - testicles.
gloriole - an indication of light around the head or body of a cacred personage, aureole.
preface - to stand in front of, to precede, herald
illegible - that cannot be read; esp. of written characters: Undecipherable.
airy - light, delicate, graceful in fancy or conception; lively, sprightly, merry.
plume (fr) - feather + flight - the path followed by an object moving through space.
TIBERIAS - Town on Western shore of the Sea of Galilee, on Lake Tiberias (where Jesus divided the loaves and fishes and walked on water; John 6). Founded in 2nd decade of 1st century AD and named after the emperor Tiberius, it became the chief center of rabbinic scholarship, where the Jerusalem Talmud was edited. The Massonite scholars in Tiberias introduced the "points" for vowels in Hebrew script.
ambi - both (ambivalent) + ambi (l) - on both sides + embelish - to beautify with adventitious adornments; to ornament.
majuscule - a large letter + Sullivan: The Book of Kells 16: 'large uncial and minuscule combined, initial letters of a highly ornamental character',
baffling - bewildering, that defeats skill or endeavour
chrismon - a christian monogram and symbol formed of the first two letters "x" and "r" of the greek word for Christ + (notebook 1924): 'trumpet Xri = Chrismon' → Sullivan, The Book of Kells 18: 'verse 38 of the 27th chapter of St. Matthew, "Tunc crucifixerant XPI cum eo duos latrones" ("Then were there two thieves crucified with him"). The "XPI," which seems to belong to the sentence, is... probably only the mediæval note-mark composed of the monogram of "Christi," which was arbitrarily used to call attention to remarkable passages. It was known as the Chrismon' (Matthew 27:38).
trilithon - an ancient stone monument consisting of two upright megaliths carrying a third as a lintel [(notebook 1924): 'trilithons'].
= archaic letter representing SS
sigla - letters (esp. initials) or other characters used to denote words; abbreviations or marks of abbreviation.
fondly - affectionately, lovingly, tenderly
tautologically - in a tautological (identical) manner
consort - a husband; a partner, companion, mate (obs.)
cathay - one of the tartar race in northern china, broadly: Chinese + Kate + Alfred Lord Tennyson: Locksley Hall: 'Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay'.
a week or two - a moderate space of time + tick - a moment, second, instant.
SIANG-CHANG-KIANG - River (kiang) in central China + Hsiang-kang (Chinese) - Hong Kong.
san-shih-erh (Chinese) - thirty-two (in Chinese French Romanisation 'erh' is 'eul')
inn - a dwelling-place, habitation, abode, lodging; a hostelry or hotel; sometimes, erroneously, a tavern which does not provide lodging + village? - sigla for HCE (m)
multiplication sign - the sign × placed between two quantities to denote their multiplication.
marking - a mark or pattern of marks, natural or artificial
crossroads - the place of intersection of two roads; a point at which two or more courses of action diverge; a critical turning-point + crossroads ahead - sigla for X (four masters).
pothook - to curve into the shape of a pothook ("S", a hook in the form of "S" for hanging pots over an open fire).
gibbet - Sc. A chimney crane for hanging a pot over the fire.
fourwheeler - a one horse carriage with four wheels, a vehicle with four wheels.
bucker - one that leads filled vegetable or fruit sacks in the field; one who saws trees into logs; a horse given to bucking.
*T* - original siglum for Tristan, superseded by *Y* (created by merging of *C* (Shem, Cain) and *A* (Shaun, Abel)) a.k.a. Shem-Shaun or Magrath or Cad.
blind alley - an alley closed at one end; a cul-de-sac; also fig., a course of action that fails to effect its purpose or from which there is no resultant benefit + *I* - siglum for Isolde (resembles blind alley roadsign).
plot - an area or piece (of small or moderate size) of ground; a plan or scheme for the constitution or accomplishment of anything.
Mors - Latin goddess of death
interior - something that is within, inner part of a thing
cudgel - a short thick stick used as a weapon; a club + (notebook 1924): 'some blame Him & more - the soot' ('Him' not clear).
soot - a black carbonaceous substance or deposit consisting of fine particles formed by the combustion of coal, wood, oil, or other fuel.
unthank - to unsay or recall one's thanks to
pees - pl. of pee - letter "p", urine, pea + Joyce's note: 'swollen pees as often as not'.
awry - displaced, disordered, disarranged; crooked, distorted
as often as not - very often, usually
kew - thank you (short) + Sullivan, The Book of Kells 36: 'This page of the genealogy... contains a string of Q's with which are intertwined a number of droll and impish figures in various grotesque positions, with legs tucked under their arms, and tongues protruding'.
Ohr (ger) - ear