Venetian glass – fine glassware made in or near Venice
The author means that the gloomy and sinister landscape would have been a suitable place for the meeting of the three witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's
anti-coagulant – a substance that prevents coagulation of blood
ticks – a large group of wingless insects that attach themselves to the skin of men or animals and suck their blood
birds of a feather flock together – a proverb which means that people with the same characteristics or tastes gather, assemble together
to stalk – to get close (usually to game) cautiously and noiselessly, without being seen, heard, or winded; the figure of a stalking Red Indian is familiar from numerous American works of fiction (e. g. novels by James Fenimore Cooper)
tree-snake – a variety of grass-snake, a small non-poisonous snake, having a very beautiful coloring of yellow, green and black with metal gleam, and living in trees and brushes
dropping
lovesick swain
boudoir ['bu:dwa:] – literally, 'a place to sulk in', from Fr.
Here we find an interplay of the two meanings of the noun
The author speaks of this part of his anatomy as if it were some sort of food, like, say, 'frozen leg of mutton' (note the absence of article).
Scott, Robert Falcon (1868-1912) – English naval officer and explorer, leader of two Antarctic expeditions, in the second of which he reached the South Pole (18th January 1912). Scott himself and the rest of the Pole party perished on the return journey.
overdraft – a withdrawal of money from a bank in excess of the amount credited to the drawer; the amount withdrawn in excess
the National Debt – the result of different credit operations of the state to get money necessary for meeting the expenditures which are not secured by the national income
rabies ['reibi:z] – an infectious virus disease of the central nervous system in dogs and other flesh-eating animals; it can be transmitted to man by the bite of an infected animal and is characterized by choking convulsions, inability to swallow liquids, etc.; it is fatal if not treated immediately (also called
a rake-off
a whole-time job – a job that takes up all your time
The author means that the sum amounted to a fantastically big figure, reminding one of what a light-year stands for (a distance of approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles that light travels, in one year). The Astronomer Royal – the Royal Astronomer Society in England.
there was nothing for it – there was nothing to be done
pigeon-toed – with the toes turned inwards
by the hour – for hours on end
scent gland – a special kind of gland of certain animals, as skunks, coatimundis and others, producing a substance with an offensive smell; it serves them for marking their territories and as a means of defence
having… hoisted the coatimundi equivalent of the flag – having marked his territory to show that it was occupied (this is what a hoisted, i.e. raised, flag usually shows)
within range – a military expression, where
to lord it over somebody – to rule over somebody, to act in an overbearing, dictatorial manner
Durrell invents this name in imitation of other children's games.
let alone – not to mention, to say nothing of
douroucoulis – genus of monkeys, the family of capuchin: a South American monkey with a whitish face and a hoodlike crown of black hair
a stick of rock – i.e. of rock candy, hard sweetmeat made of sugar
nothing loath to leaving – quite willing to leave
aviary ['eivjari] – a large cage for keeping many birds
fly-blown – full of flies' eggs and larvae; hence dirty, contaminated
cabinet – a case with drawers or shelves to hold
unicorn – a fabulous animal resembling a horse with a single twisted horn, chiefly known from its heraldic representation (facing the lion) in the British royal arms; Piccadilly – a fashionable street in London, between Haymarket and Hyde Park Corner
are not two a penny – are not too common, are not so easy to find. The expression comes from a street-pedlar cry, preserved in the following old nursery- rhyme:
