О. Генри - Лучшие рассказы О. Генри = The Best of O. Henry

‘Anvil Polka’ – polka, a folk dance of Bohemian origin, from the Anvil City in western Alaska

‘The Blue Danube’ – a famous waltz by Johan Strauss the Younger (1825–1899), an Austrian composer, one of the Strauss family

suaderos = saddlecloths ( Spanish )

Comptroller of the Currency – the bank official who controls the money circulation (US)

Kansas City – a city in western Missouri, at the confluence

Uncle Sam (U.S.) – the US symbol, usually a figure dressed in a coat, vest, tall hat and striped trousers, with white hair and whiskers; the name is associated with a businessman Samuel Wilson (Uncle Sam) who supplied the army during the War of 1812.

collateral – a document of guarantee, bail or security

valise – a travelling bag or suitcase

in’ards = inwards

rattlers = rattle snakes

acres – acre is a square measure equal to 4047 sq. metres

Laredo – a city in southern Texas on the Rio Grande, founded in 1755; the bridge connects the city with Nuevo Laredo, a city in northeastern Mexico.

Colorado-claro = a pure soul from Colorado, a mountain state in the West of the USA

Danae – in Greek mythology, the mistress of Zeus, the chief god, who came into the room where she was imprisoned by her father in the form of the golden rain

lese-majeste = insult of Majesty ( French )

ranchero = owner of the ranch ( Spanish )

sacuista – the name of a tropical plant ( Spanish )

rucus = ruckus = wrangle, quarrel

38 = a 38 calibre revolver

saccharine – here: sweet

contralto – the lowest female voice in vocal music

coyotes – prairie wolves, animals of the dog family, smaller than wolves

S.P.C.A. – Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

the Salado range – a mountain range in the Guadalupe Mountains in western Texas

machete – a large knife with broad blade

Bully for you! = Well done!

Santa Rosa – a city in western California, 80 km northwest from San Francisco, founded in 1833

Mother Hubbard – the main character of popular nursery rhymes; the name is used since 1591.

Iberian = Spanish; Iberians were a prehistoric people of southern and eastern Spain who gave their name to the peninsula on which Spain is situated.

Hibernian = Irish

Jacques – one of the characters of William Shakespeare’s comedy ‘As You Like It’ written in 1598–1600

Arden – the Forest of Arden, the place where Jacques from ‘As You Like It’ is living in exile

Momus – in Greek mythology, the god of slander and mockery

charades – charade is a kind of riddle in prose or verse in which a word is guessed by combining its different syllables, invented in the 18th century France

buggy – a light two– or four-wheeled carriage used in the 19th and early 20th centuries

muchacha = a girl ( Spanish )

regalia – here: attire

Cherokee – the character’s nickname; Cherokee is a North American Indian tribe, one of the largest in America at the time of colonization.

the Gila – a river in southwestern New Mexico, US, a tributary of the Colorado River

the Salt River – a river in east-central Arizona, a major tributary of the Gila River from the northwest

the Pecos – a river in New Mexico and Texas, a tributary of the Rio Grande

Albuquerque – a city on the Rio Grande in north-central New Mexico

Phoenix – a city and capital of Arizona on the Salt River

Santa Fe – the capital of New Mexico, founded in 1610 by Spanish colonists

seidlitz – a laxative medicine named for the mineral water from Seidlitz village in Bohemia

C.O.D. = collect on delivery (payment for goods on deli-very)

the Cape Hatteras – a long narrow sandbar in North Carolina, US

William Cullen Longfellow – the author combined the names of William Cullen (1710–1790), a Scottish physician and professor of medicine, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882), a popular American poet of the 19th century.

Bethlehem – a town 8 km south of Jerusalem, in the Old Testament, the place of birth of Jesus Christ

Noah’s Ark – in the Old Testament, in the Flood story, Noah, a righteous man, was instructed by God to build an ark to save himself and his family, and to take specimens of all the world’s animals into it.

Kriss Kringle = Santa Claus ( US )

Saint Nick – Saint Nicholas, one of the most popular Christian saints; in the 4th century, the bishop of Myra, a town in Lycia, an ancient country in Asia Minor. Santa Claus, a patron of Christmas in the United States, is traditionally associated with Saint Nicholas.

Grimm – fairy tales by Brothers Grimm (Jacob Grimm 1785–1863 and Wilhelm Grimm 1786–1859), famous German collectors of folktales and folk songs

the Pedernales River – a river in south-central Texas

hassenpfeffer = strong pepper ( German )

the Rhine – one of the greatest rivers in western Europe; it flows from the Alps to the North Sea.

dummkopf = stupid head ( German )

Auf wiedersehen = Good-bye ( German )

Donnerwetter! = Dammit! ( German )

Wass ist das? = What is it? ( German )

Ve vas der… = This is… ( German )

Meinherr = Mister ( German )

Chiny writin’ = Chinese writing

You are off your kazip – here: Nonsense!

shorthand – stenography, a system of symbols and abbreviations used for rapid writing