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Full Glossary for The Sun Also Rises
absinthe a green, bitter, toxic liqueur made with wormwood oil and anise, now illegal in most countries.
Abyssinia the former name for the country now known as Ethiopia.
aguardiente (Spanish) clear brandy
Algabeno, Gallo bullfighters
Alger Horatio Alger (1832–1899), U.S. writer of boys' stories; his books typically deal with rags-to-riches stories of young boys advancing from poverty to wealth and acclaim.
Alsace a historical region of northeastern France, under German control from 1871 to 1919.
American Women's Club list apparently a list of recommended tourist sites.
amontillado a pale, relatively dry sherry.
Anatole France pseudonym of Jacques Anatole Francois Thibault (1844–1924); French novelist and literary critic.
Anis del Mono a brand of French or Spanish liqueur flavored with aniseed.
ANIS DEL TORO (Spanish) anise of the bull; brand of French or Spanish liqueur flavored with aniseed.
Anti-Saloon League American temperance organization.
apéritif an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite.
arc-light a lamp in which brilliant light is produced by maintaining an arc between two electrodes.
Ardennes a wooded plateau in northeastern France, southern Belgium, and Luxembourg; the scene of heavy fighting in World War I.
armistice a temporary stopping of warfare by mutual agreement, as a truce preliminary to the signing of a peace treaty. The armistice referred to here is the one that ended World War I, on November 11, 1918.
Arriba (Spanish) up, upwards.
arriero (Spanish) mule driver.
Avenue de l'Opéra a boulevard running southwest from the Place de l'Opera to the Palais Royal, on the right bank of the Seine in Paris.
Avila a city of central Spain, west of Madrid.
Ayuntamiento town hall.
baggage-truck a handcart used for moving luggage.
baize a thick woolen cloth made to resemble felt and often dyed green, used to cover billiard tables.
bal musette (French) bagpipe dance
banderillero (Spanish)a bullfighter who assists the matador by placing banderillas, or harpoons, in the withers of the bull.
baronet a man holding the lowest hereditary British title, below a baron but above a knight.
barrera the protecting wall enclosing the floor of a bull ring at bullfights.
Basques a people living in the western Pyrenees of Spain and France.
bateau mouche a pleasure steamer.
Bayonne a city in southwestern France.
because she had no hat traditionally, women are discouraged from entering churches in Europe bareheaded.
Belmonte Juan Belmonte was a matador renowned throughout Spain during the early 1920s. In other words, Hemingway here features an actual person as a minor character in his fictional story.
Biarritz aresort town in southwestern France, on the Bay of Biscay.
Bilbao a port in the Basque country, in northern Spain, near the Bay of Biscay.
bilge (Slang) worthless or silly talk or writing; nonsense.
bladder a bag consisting of or lined with membraneous tissue in the body of many animals, capable of inflation to receive and contain liquids or gasses.
blind (Slang) drunk.
boat train a train scheduled to be at a port in time for the prompt transfer of passengers to or from a ship.
Bocanegra (Spanish) Blackmouth.
the Bois the Bois de Boulogne, an enormous Parisian park.
Bonaparte hats hats like those worn by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), a French military leader and emperor of France (1804–1815), born in Corsica.
Bonapartist Groups those who supported the Bonaparte dynasty in France
bootblack a person whose work is shining shoes and boots.
Bootblack a person whose work is shining shoes and boots.
Bordeaux a seaport in southwestern France, on the Garonne River.
Borracho! Muy borracho! (Spanish) Drunk! Very drunk!
bota (Spanish) wineskin.
Boulevard Boulevard St.-Germain, the "main drag" of Paris's Latin Quarter.
Boulevard des Capucines an avenue connecting the Boulevard de la Madeleine with the Place de l'Opera, on the Right Bank.
Boulevard du Port Royal an avenue in Montparnasse; west of Boulevard St. Michel; its name changes to Boulevard Montparnasse.
Boulevard here, the Boulevard St. Michel.
Boulevard Montparnasse the "main drag" of the Montparnasse district.
Boulevard Raspail an avenue connecting Boulevard St. Germain and Boulevard du Montparnasse, on the Left Bank of the Seine.
Boulevard St. Michel an avenue connecting Montparnasse with the Latin Quarter.
a brick (Old Informal) a fine person.
Bring up half a dozen bottles of beer and a bottle of Fundador Mike intends to stay severely intoxicated.
brioche a light, rich roll made with flour, butter, eggs, and yeast.
British East Africa the former name of the country now known as Kenya.
Bruges French name for a city in northwestern Belgium.
Brussels the capital of Belgium, in the central part.
Bryan William Jennings (1860–1925); U.S. politician and orator.
buck to dislodge or throw by bucking.
buck up to cheer up.
Buen hombre (Spanish) Good man.
Burguete a town in northern Spain, in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
by-line a line identifying the writer of a newspaper or magazine article.
Café de la Paix a Parisian café, the name of which means, significantly, Café of Peace.
Café de Versailles a Parisian café.
Café Iruña a café that still stands on the Plaza del Castillo in Pamplona.
Café Napolitain a Parisian café.
Café Select a café in the Montparnasse district, southwest of the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the Seine.
Caffeine, we are here. pun on Charles E. Stanton's "Lafayette, we are here" (Paris, July 4, 1917).
Cannes a city in southeastern France, on the Riviera.
carabineers a soldier armed with a carbine (a rifle).
carbons carbon copies of typewritten pages.
Carmel, California . . . Provincetown, Massachusetts a town on the California coast north of Los Angeles, and a town at the tip of Cape Cod. Traditionally, both towns have welcomed artists and writers.
Carrera San Jeronimo a street in central Madrid.
Castile region and former kingdom in northern and central Spain: gained autonomy in tenth century and united with Leon, and later with Aragon (fifteenth century), and became the nucleus of the Spanish monarchy.
C'est entendu, Monsieur (French) It is understood, sir.
Chablis a dry white Burgundy wine made in or near the town of Chablis, France.
chateau a large country house and estate, especially in France.
Château Margaux a French wine.
Che mala fortuna (Italian) What bad luck.
chez (French) the home of.
chica (Spanish) girl.
Chope de Negre a Parisian café
CINZANO brand of aperitif.
Circe in Homer's Odyssey, an enchantress who turns men into swine.
the Coast the West Coast of the United States.
cocher (French) coachman, driver.
cock-eyed (Slang) drunk.
cogido (Spanish) gored.
cognac a French brandy distilled from wine in the area of Cognac, France.
cold (Informal) unlucky or ineffective.
Cologne a city in Germany, on the Rhine, in the state of North Rhine–Westphalia.
Comment? (French) Why?
the Concha San Sebastian beach.
concierge a custodian or head porter, as of an apartment house or hotel.
Connais pas (French) I don't know.
consigne (French) baggage-check room.
copper a coin of copper or bronze, as a penny.
cordon a keychain
corking (Informal) very good or well; excellently.
cornada (Spanish) goring.
Cornigrams items about bullfighting, presumably.
counsel a lawyer or group of lawyers giving advice about legal matters and representing clients in court.
Course de taureaux (French) running of bulls.
courts tennis courts.
cove (British slang) a boy or man; chap; fellow.
the Crillon the Bar du Crillon at the Hôtel du Crillon, across from the U.S. Embassy on the Place de la Concorde; one of Europe's grandest hotels.
Damoy's a Montparnasse café.
darb a person or thing regarded as remarkable or excellent.
death mask a cast of a person's face taken soon after death.
Dempsey Jack, born William Harrison Dempsey (1895–1983); U.S. professional boxer.
depart (French) start (of the race).
desencajonada (Spanish) releasing.
diligence a public stagecoach, especially as formerly used in France.
The Dingo a Parisian café.
Dites garçon, un pernod (French) Tell the waiter, a pernod.
the Dome, Lavigne's, Closerie des Lilas Parisian cafés.
drag (Slang) influence that gains special or undeserved favors; pull.
Dred Scott case a controversial U.S. Supreme court decision (1857) that denied the claim of a U.S. black slave to be free as a result of living in free territory.
drygoods cloth, cloth products, thread, and so on.
duster a lightweight coat worn to protect the clothes from dust, as formerly in open automobiles.
dysentery any of various intestinal inflammations characterized by abdominal pain and frequent and intense diarrhea with bloody, mucous feces.
encierro (Spanish) enclosure.
Es muy flamenco (Spanish) It is very flamenco
Escorial a huge quadrangle of granite buildings near Madrid, built in the sixteenth century by Philip II of Spain; it encloses a palace, a church, a monastery, and so on.
esta ciudad (Spanish) this town.
Estella, Sanguesa towns in Navarra.
featherweight a boxer between a junior featherweight and a junior lightweight, with a maximum weight of 126 pounds.
a female English probably a literal translation of the woman's phrasing in Spanish.
fiacre (French) hackney-coach, cab.
file that line he got off this morning report on the news conference mentioned earlier.
fine à l'eau (French) brandy and water.
fines (French) brandies.
fire-gaps avenues through the woods created by cutting down trees, so as to discourage the spread of forest fires.
fistula an abnormal passage from an abscess, cavity, or hollow organ to the skin or to another abscess, cavity, or organ.
Flamand (French) Flemish.
Flemish of Flanders or its people, language, or culture.
fly-book a book-like case to hold artificial fishing flies.
fonda (Spanish) inn.
Fontainbleau a town in northern France, near Paris; the site of a palace of former kings of France.
football soccer.
ford a shallow place in a stream or river where one can cross by wading or riding on horseback, in an automobile, and so on.
Ford Henry (1863–1947); U.S. automobile manufacturer.
Fordham a Jesuit university located in the Bronx, New York.
Foyot's a Parisian restaurant.
franc the basic monetary unit of France.
the France a luxury ocean liner.
Frankie Fritsch a college football star of the 1920s known as "the Fordham Flash."
Gare d'Orsay a neoclassical train station, across the Seine from the Louvre and the Tuileries; now a museum of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art.
Gare St. Lazare railroad station located in Paris's 8th Arrondisement.
gazette any of various official publications containing announcements and bulletins.
General Grant Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822–1885); eighteenth President of the U.S. (1869–1877); commander in chief of the Union forces in the Civil War.
gentille (French) pretty, nice, graceful; amiable, pleasing.
gentry people of high social standing; especially, in Great Britain, the class of landowning people ranking just below the nobility.
get off some cables send newspaper stories overseas via telegram.
Gib a town in Spain; also a pun by Hemingway at Jake's expense — a gib is a castrated male cat.
Gibraltar a small peninsula at the southern tip of Spain, extending into the Mediterranean.
glasses opera glasses or binoculars.
Globos illuminados (Spanish) illuminated balloons.
a goner (Slang) doomed
grade a sloping surface.
Grand Cerf a hotel in or near Senlis, apparently.
Great Commoner nickname for William Jennings Bryan.
great giants, cigar-store Indians, thirty feet high, Moors, a King and a Queen enormous effigies carried through the streets to celebrate the fiesta.
gunny-sacking a sack or bag made of gunny, a coarse, heavy fabric of jute or hemp.
Hardy Thomas (1840–1928); English novelist and poet.
He can't believe it didn't mean anything. Brett understands that sleeping with her was meaningful to Cohn, though the experience was of little import to her.
He had a pile of saucers in front of him As each saucer represents one drink brought by the waiter, Stone has been drinking for a long time.
He thinks it was me. Not the show in general. Because he is inexperienced, Romero attributes his pleasure to Brett in particular, rather than to sex generally.
hell's own (Slang) the ultimate with respect to.
Hendaye a seacoast town in southwestern France, in that country's Basque region.
her hair was brushed back like a boy's. She started all that. Jake seems to be claiming that Brett initiated the 1920s fashion for short, or "bobbed," hair on women.
Her lodge the concierge's booth in the lobby of Jake's building.
He's quite one of us a reference to wartime experience; Jake is a veteran, and Brett served as a nurse. Again, Cohn did not serve, perhaps because he was simply too young; therefore, he is "one of them."
the hill Montmartre.
his compatriot Moses, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. A reference to Cohn's Jewishness.
Holy Cross a college located in Worcester, Massachusetts.
I tapped with my fingertips on the table. Jake is superstitiously "knocking on wood" so as to counteract Romero's statement, which seems to tempt fate.
I think I'll go to San Sebastian Jake is returning to the scene of Brett's affair with Cohn.
Irati River River in the Basque region of Spain.
the island the Ile St.-Louis, in the River Seine.
It looked badly marked that is, bruised from his fight with Cohn.
Jefferson Davis (1808–1889); U.S. statesman; president of the Confederacy (1861–1865).
Jerez (Spanish) sherry.
Jo Davidson (1883–1952); U.S. sculptor.
kepi a cap with a flat round top and a stiff visor, worn by French soldiers.
kike (Slang) a Jew; a hostile and offensive term.
King George V (1865–1936); king of Great Britain and Ireland (1910–1936); son of Edward VII.
kiosque (French) a small structure open at one or more sides.
klaxon a kind of electric horn with a loud, shrill sound.
La France Sportive (French) Sporting France.
the Landes a region of southwestern France.
landing-nets a small bag-like net attached to a long handle, for taking a hooked fish from the water.
Lasted just four days. . . . Don't remember. Wrote you a postcard. Remember that perfectly. Bill drops the subjects of his sentences because he is drunk.
L'Auto a French periodical.
L'Avenue's a Parisian restaurant.
Le Toril a periodical covering bullfighting.
Lenglen Suzanne Lenglen (1899–1938); Wimbledon singles champion 1919–1923.
Let's turn in early Mike is aroused and wants to have sex with Brett.
lidia (Spanish) fight.
Liège a province of eastern Belgium, or its capital, on the Meuse River.
light heavyweight a boxer between a super middleweight and a cruiserweight, with a maximum weight of 175 pounds.
the Lilas Closerie des Lilas, a café.
little chickens young girlfriends.
loopholes a hole or narrow slit in the wall of a fort, for looking or shooting through.
lorgnon a single or double eyeglass, as a monocle or pince-nez.
Lourdes a town in southwestern France to which Roman Catholics travel so as to be healed of injuries, illnesses, and so on.
LOVE Note that Brett's telegram is signed with her name only. Though profoundly attracted to Jake, she is perhaps incapable of love.
Loyola any of a number of colleges and universities named for Saint Ignatius de Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits.
Luxembourg gardens formal gardens behind the Palais du Luxembourg, west of the Latin Quarter.
Lyons the English name for Lyon, a city in east-central France, at the juncture of the Rhone and Salone rivers.
the Madeleine a church at the opposite end of the Rue Royal from the Place de la Concorde, on the Right Bank.
MADRID the capital of Spain, in the central part.
magnum a wine bottle holding about 1.5 liters, about twice as much as the usual bottle.
Malaga a seaport in southern Spain, on the Mediterranean.
Malagueño (Spanish) native to or typical of Malaga.
the male English Because he speaks English (and perhaps because of his clipped, curt manner) the woman has mistakenly assumed that Jake is from England rather than America.
mattock a tool for loosening the soil, digging up and cutting roots, and so on; it is like a pickaxe but has a flat, adz-shaped blade on one or both sides.
Mencken H.L. (1880–1956); U.S. writer, editor, and critic.
middleweight a boxer between a junior middleweight and a super middleweight, with a maximum weight of 160 pounds.
Milano Italian name for Milan; a commune in northwestern Italy, in Lombardy.
miniature-painter a painter of very small paintings, especially portraits, done on ivory, vellum, and so on.
monsieur (French) sir, mister.
Monte Carlo a town in Monaco; gambling resort.
Montereau town in northern France, on the Seine southeast of Paris.
Montmartre a district of Paris, in the northern part; noted for its cafés and as an artists' quarter.
moraine a mound, ridge, or mass of rocks, gravel, sand, clay, and so on carried and deposited directly by a glacier along its side (lateral moraine), at its lower end (terminal moraine), or beneath the ice (ground moraine).
motor automobile.
Mucha suerte (Spanish) Much luck.
muleta (Spanish) a red flannel cloth draped over a stick and manipulated by the matador in his series of passes.
Mumms a brand of Champagne.
Muy Buenos (Spanish) Very Good.
Nada (Spanish) Nothing.
Navarrais from the province of Navarra, in northeastern Spain.
Negre Joyeaux, Café Aux Amateurs Latin Quarter cafés.
New York Herald a now-defunct daily newspaper.
Ney Michel Ney, Duc D'Elchingen, Prince de La Muskova (1769–1815); French military leader under Napoleon I; executed.
nickelled plated in nickel.
Nix (Slang) no.
the Norte station a Madrid railroad station where trains from the north arrive.
Notre Dame a Catholic university located in South Bend, Indiana.
Notre Dame a famous early Gothic cathedral in Paris, built between 1163 and 1257; in full, Notre Dame de Paris.
Nouvelle Revue Française (French) New French Revision.
Nuestra Señora de Roncesvalles Our Lady of Roncesvalles.
of title titled, having a title, especially of nobility.
An old lady's bags did that Mike either fell down or got into a fight, because he is drunk.
one of these bitches that ruins children an older woman who corrupts young men.
Opéra L'Opera Garnier, rococo opera house created by Charles Garnier.
Ospedale Maggiore the great hospital in Milan, which is the setting of part of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.
Padiglione Ponte Ponte Pavilion, apparently the wing of the hospital where Jake was treated.
Padiglione Zonda another hospital pavilion.
Pamplona a city in Navarre, in northeastern Spain.
Pantheon quarter the Left Bank district surrounding the Pantheon, a "Temple of Fame" where Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and others are buried.
paseo (Spanish) a leisurely walk, especially in the evening; stroll.
Paseo de Sarasate a park in the center of Pamplona.
patronne (French) proprietress.
pelota jai alai; a game like handball, played with a curved basket fastened to the arm, for catching the ball and hurling it against the wall.
pelouse (French) lawn.
percale fine, closely woven cotton cloth.
Pernod a particular brand of anise, a French or Spanish liqueur flavored with aniseed.
pesage (French) paddock.
peseta the basic monetary unit of Spain.
Petite Correspondance (French) little correspondence; letters to the editor.
picador in bullfighting, any of the horsemen who weaken the neck muscles of the bull by pricking with a lance.
Piccadilly a street in London, England; traditional center of fashionable shops, clubs, and hotels.
piece (Slang) a woman regarded as a sexual partner.
pie-eyed (Slang) intoxicated, drunk.
pirotecnico (Spanish) fireworks.
Place de la Contrescarpe, Rue Mouffetard, Aveue des Gobelins streets between St. Etienne du Mont and Parc Montsouris, on the Left Bank of the Seine.
Por ustedes (Spanish) For you
porto port, a sweet fortified wine usually served after a meal.
posada (Spanish) an inn.
poules (French) literally, hen; slang for prostitute.
prepped attended a preparatory school.
President Coolidge (John) Calvin (1872–1933); thirtieth President of the U.S. (1923–1929).
Prince of Wales (1894–1972); son of George V; Duke of Windsor; later king of England, as Edward VIII; abdicated.
Princeton an Ivy League university located in the town of Princeton, in central New Jersey.
Puerta del Sol (Spanish) Gate of the Sun, in the very center of Madrid.
Pyrenees a mountain range along the French-Spanish border.
Quai de Bethune a street on the Ile St.-Louis.
Quai d'Orleans a street on the Ile St.-Louis.
Quai d'Orsay a street running alongside the Left Bank of the Seine, north of the Invalides district
the Quarter the Latin Quarter, a section of Paris south of the River Seine where many artists and students live.
quelqu'une (French) such a one.
an R.G. Dun report precursor of Dun & Bradstreet, an agency furnishing subscribers with information as to the financial standing and credit rating of businesses.
a review of the Arts a journal, perhaps published quarterly and probably containing fiction, poetry and criticism.
Riff a mountain range along the northeastern coast of Morocco, extending from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Algerian border.
the Ritz a Parisian hotel founded by Cesar Ritz (1850–1918), Swiss hotel owner.
Rockefeller John D(avison) (1839–1937); U.S. industrialist and philanthropist.
Roncesvalles a pass through the Pyrenees, near the French border in the Navarra province of Spain, utilized often by pilgrims from Paris to Santiago de Compostela.
Roncevaux French name for Roncesvalles.
Ronda a town in the province of Andalusia, in southern Spain.
the Rotonde a café that still stands on the Boulevard du Montparnasse.
ruddy a euphemism for bloody (British Informal); confounded.
Rue de Cardinal Lemoine a street in the Latin Quarter
Rue de la Montagne Sainte Geneviève a street in the Latin Quarter.
Rue de Rivoli a boulevard that parallels the Seine, on Paris's right bank.
Rue Denfert-Rochereau a street on the Left Bank.
Rue des Pyramides a street connecting the Avenue de l'Opera with the Rue de Rivoli.
Rue des Saints Pères a street on the Left Bank, perpendicular to the Boulevard St. Germain.
Rue du Faubourg Montmartre chic a particular kind of Parisian stylishness.
Rue du Pot de Fer a street in the Latin Quarter.
Rue Saint Jacques a street in the Latin Quarter.
Rue Soufflot a street running from the Luxembourg gardens to the Pantheon.
Saint Jean de Luz a seacoast town in the Basque region of France, near the Spanish border.
San Fermines Fiesta de San Fermín, which lasts from noon on July 6 to 14 every year.
San Sebastian a seaport in the Basque region of northern Spain.
scad (Informal) a very large number or amount.
Seine a river in northern France, flowing northwest through France into the English Channel.
Senlis a town in northern France, northeast of Paris.
Señor Mr.; sir; a Spanish title of respect.
shakes (Slang) ability, importance, and so on.
She did not knock implies that Brett and Romero are intimate.
Sherry a Spanish fortified wine varying in color from light yellow to dark brown and in flavor from very dry to sweet.
shove it along (Slang) cut it out.
simian of or like an ape or monkey.
sinker a lead weight used in fishing.
siphon siphon bottle, a heavy, sealed bottle with a tube on the inside connected at the top with a nozzle and valve which, when opened, allows the flow of pressurized, carbonated water contained within.
smooth-rolled before a bullfight, the sand of the bullring is flattened and smoothed by means of heavy rollers.
SOL, SOL Y SOMBRA, and SOMBRA (Spanish) SUN, SUN AND SHADE, and SUN.
Something the patronne's daughter said Presumably an insult regarding Georgette's profession.
sommelier the person in a restaurant or club who is responsible for the selection and serving of wines, especially with French cuisine; wine steward.
the Sorbonne the University of Paris; specifically, the seat of the faculties of letters and science.
a sou any of several former French coins, especially one equal to five centimes.
the spilling open of the horses When the horses on which the picadors, or lancers, ride are gored by the bull, their entrails often fall out onto the floor of the bullring.
sportif (French) sporting.
spraddle (blend of spread and straddle) (Informal or Dialectic) to spread (the legs) in a sprawling or straddling way.
sprinkling the streets wetting dirt streets to discourage clouds of dust from rising.
St. Etienne du Mont a church on a hilltop northeast of the Pantheon, in the Latin Quarter of Paris.
Strasbourg a city and port in northeastern France, on the Rhine.
strega an Italian liqueur made from herbs and flowers.
strike the pull on the line by a fish seizing or snatching at bait.
stud-book a register of purebred animals, especially racehorses.
suckling unweaned.
Sud (French) south, southerly.
the Suizo a café or restaurant in Pamplona.
summer-time the European equivalent of daylight savings time.
sweep a long oar
Syndicat d'Initiative tourists' information bureau.
Tafalla a town in Navarra, south of Pamplona.
Tell him Brett wants to come into — the missing word or words are not precisely obvious, though clearly they are sexual in nature.
templed again, according to Death in the Afternoon, temple is "the quality of slowness, suavity, and rhythm in a bullfighter's work."
terasse (French) terrace or balcony.
that stick apparently, the Count uses a walking stick or cane.
three-handed bridge a version of the card game featuring three rather than the standard four players.
thrown on every screen projected onto every movie screen.
tick (Informal, chiefly British) credit; trust.
tight (Slang) drunk.
torero (Spanish) a bullfighter, especially a matador.
Toro (Spanish) Bull.
Tour du Pays Basque (French) Circuit of the Basque Region.
Tours a city in west-central France, on the Loire.
translate to move from one place or condition to another; transfer.
très (French) very.
tromper (French) to trick
Tuileries the Jardin des Tuileries, public gardens on the right bank of the Seine.
Turgenieff Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818–1883); Russian novelist.
V.A.D. Volunteer Air Detachment.
Vaya! (Spanish) Go!
Vengo Jueves (Spanish)I come Thursday.
vermouth a sweet or dry, white fortified wine flavored with aromatic herbs, used in cocktails and as an aperitif.
veronica a move in which the matador holds a cape out and pivots slowly as the bull charges past it.
very Ritz very fancy.
Veuve Cliquot a brand of champagne.
vieux marc (French) literally, old dregs or grounds. An after-dinner drink.
W.H. Hudson William Henry Hudson (1841–1922), a writer raised in Argentina by American parents whose subjects include South America and England.
we that live by the sword shall perish by the sword paraphrase of Matthew 26:52.
a week's mail stories Jake is a foreign correspondent for a North American newspaper. He refers here to his week's quota of articles to be mailed overseas.
white hands, wavy hair, white faces, grimacing, gesturing, talking a homosexual stereotype.
wicket a small window or opening, as for a bank teller or in a box office.
Would you mind opening it? Mike is too drunk too open his own beer bottle.
You . . . have given more than your life Jake has made what the Italian liaison colonel considers the ultimate sacrifice: he was castrated in battle.
You've been in the war This seems to imply that Bill is not a veteran, and yet he has referred to being in France at the end of the war; an apparent contradiction. Perhaps Bill was covering the war as a newspaper correspondent.