The Whispering Land

Anglo-Saxon expletives – here strong language (oaths in English are mostly of Anglo-Saxon origin)

his… eau-de-cologne-encrusted brow – a solemn allusion to Seiior Garcia's habit of lavishly using eau-de-cologne

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Dante – Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the author of the great Italian poem Divine Comedy, its first part being Inferno (Hell)

the numbing effect – here the paralyzing effect tapir – a hoofed hog-like mammal of tropical America and the Malayan peninsula; tapirs have flexible snouts; feed on plants gone wrong – here a bit disproportionate, somewhat unusual in appearance as far as elephants go

The author makes ironical use of a military cliché.

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Jacquie – the author's wife (short for Jacqueline)

Claudius ['klo:djos] – one of the Roman emperors (41-54 A. D.)

en route [a:n 'ru:t] (Fr.) - on the way

Great Dane – a large short-haired dog of a breed of massive size and great strength

French window – a glazed folding door that serves as a door and a window, opening on to a garden or balcony

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dinosaur ['dainaso:] – an extinct gigantic reptile what with the Aduana and this bloody tapir… – This emphatic construction is used when enumerating the various causes of one's distress, embarrassment and the like.

the Queen Mary - one of the biggest Atlantic liners

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to put one's mind to something – to direct one's thoughts towards it, to set one's mind on doing something simpatico (Sp.) - nice, pleasant

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fur seal – a warm-blooded, fish-eating animal, found chiefly in cold regions; fur seal is hunted for its valuable fur.

elephant seal – a species of seal, so called on account of the shape of the male's nose which resembles an elephant's trunk, and also on account of its elephantine size (the male measures as much as 5.5 m in length and weighs up to 3.5 tons); now almost entirely destroyed.

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to warm to somebody – to begin liking somebody hotter by and by to win somebody over – to make somebody take a liking to you, feel friendly towards you to decide somebody – to cause somebody to come to a decision

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Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882) – the great English naturalist, founder of the theory of evolution. In 1831-36 he made a voyage round the world on board the Beagle. The results of his observations of animals and plants, made during the voyage, were described in the naturalist's journal, The Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.

H.M.S. – His (Her) Majesty's Ship, a ship of the British navy covey – here a group, a party (the word is generally used to designate a family of partridges)

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deer-stalker hat (or cap) – a cloth cap with a peak before and behind and two ear-flaps; it is often called a deer-stalker for short prenatal posture – the position of an unborn baby in the mother's womb

Tres Arroyos ['tres e'roies] (Sp.) - Three Streams the Pampa (or Pampas) – the extensive treeless plains of South America

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eucalyptus tree – a tree of the myrtle family; most of the trees of this genus are important timber trees, and some secrete resinous gums (e. g. the Australian gum-tree)

like leprous limbs – like the arms and legs of people affected with leprosy, a chronic infectious disease characterized by a thickening and ulceration of the skin estancia (Sp.) - farm, estate carunculated – covered with caruncles, small hard outgrowths electric-blue – a steely blue color oven-bird [Avnba:d] – the popular name of various South American birds which build dome-shaped oven-like nests blank-faced – here inexpressive, lacking individuality

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tattoo [ta'tu:] – a continuous tapping or knocking

Hola! (Sp.) - Hullo!

sanitary arrangements – a polite way of speaking about a lavatory stone – measure of weight used in Great Britain (6.34 kg); the plural form is unchanged

Chelsea – a district of London on the north bank of the Thames, with many gardens, including the London Botanic Garden buenas noches (Sp.) - good evening

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Hablo con la patrona? (Sp.) - Am I speaking to the hostess?

Si, si, señor… que quiores? (Sp.) - Yes, sir, what is it you need?

she puffed and undulated her way down to the kitchen – puffing and undulating, she made her way to the kitchen (note this construction, often resorted to by the author when describing different sorts of movement)

monochromatic Martian landscape – the author evidently has in mind standard descriptions of the planet Mars encountered in science-fiction books country – here ground

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nodded off – fell suddenly asleep

Scotch = Scotch whisky

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dust-devil – a mass of dust whirling rapidly round and round in cylindrical or funnel shape

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I ever dream = that I ever dreamed of (i.e. imagined). In the next remark the same verb is used in a different meaning: 'to see in sleep'.

introduction – here a letter of introduction, one that introduces a person to friends or acquaintances of the writer in a… reptilian manner – like a serpent or a lizard

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