The Whispering Land

Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!

The words care of (or, in short, c/o) are placed on the envelope before the name of the person who is expected to transmit the letter to the actual addressee (for instance, if the latter is staying in his house).

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sleeper – any of the parallel crossbeams to which the rails of a railroad (the track) are fastened

the train crash of the century – the most sensational train crash of our age; of the century has become quite a catch-phrase: in the newspapers one reads of the murder of the century, of the museum-robbery of the century, and even of the winter of the century (said of an unusually cold winter)

a Western film, often called simply a Western (the same as a Wild West film) – in U.S.A. cinematography, a motion picture about the adventures of cowboys or frontier men in the far West of the United States during its so-called 'early period of lawlessness', i.e. the beginning of the 19th century

cowcatcher – a metal frame on the front of a locomotive to remove obstructions from the tracks

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The author spent the earlier part of his life in Greece, hence his knowledge of the language.

to run to earth – here to find after a long search (a hunting term used jocularly; cf. other instances of its use on pp. 99, 121)

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forty-odd cages – more than forty cages; the word odd when mentioned in round numbers, means 'additional to a whole'

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to come into one's own – to start performing one's duties

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to doll up (colloq.) - to dress carefully and stylishly or showily

Martin Fierro - an epic poem by Jose Fernandez, a well-known poet of Argentina

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Bosun ['bousn] = boatswain, the ship's officer who is in charge of the crew, the boats, rigging, etc.

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pale into insignificance – become insignificant, seem of no importance

full of beans (sl.) - full of energy, lively, brisk, vivacious

to husband – here to economize, to spend thriftily

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the Great Fire of London – the fire that destroyed the most part, of London in 1666

beautifully appointed – very nicely furnished

at the double – at a run, at double speed

a whacking great shot (sl.) - a very big dose

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kill or cure – here a remedy that would either cure a patient very quickly or kill him

for all I knew – as far as I knew

allergic to something – having an allergy, not able to stand something (allergy – a hypersensitivity to a specific substance, such as certain foods, dust, etc., or condition, as heat or cold, which in similar amounts is harmless to most people)

she's right out – she has passed out, i.e. lost consciousness

terrific (colloq.) - wonderful, magnificent

'hostesses' – a euphemistic name for the local prostitutes

port of call – a harbour where merchant ships discharge and take in cargo; figuratively, a place regularly visited by someone

to stand someone a drink – to treat to a drink

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carnavalitos (Sp.) - gay songs

pobrecita (Sp.) - poor thing

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she never looked back – she never returned to her previous bad state

by leaps and bounds – very quickly, with very rapid progress

porcine – pertaining to or characteristic of pigs (cf. equine charges on p. 27, feline tribe on p. 121)

The Pit and the Pendulum - a story by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), American poet, critic and prose writer. The main personage who tells the story was sentenced to death by the Spanish inquisition and thrown into a dark dungeon, where he lay bound hand and foot, with dozens of rats running all over his body.

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to pull somebody round – to cause somebody to recover from an illness, to save

despachante (Sp.) - a Customs official who is in charge of dispatching, i.e. sending off goods

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We had twenty minutes to go. – We had twenty minutes at our disposal.

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stop press – the latest news inserted in a special-column of a newspaper after printing has begun