Gerald Durrell - The Whispering Land

what I took to be the male of the herd – the animal I took for the male guanaco (a guanaco herd consists of a male, several females and some baby guanacos)

a pair of… lorgnettes (Fr.) - a pair of eye-glasses usually held by a long handle; when using them, a person generally has to tilt back his or her head

terrier – a breed of dog, usually of small size

anthropomorphic – here partly human, partly animal; the word is generally used when describing human-like traits or actions of animals, not vice versa, as in this case

biscuit brown – see note to p. 32

rather a lark (colloq.) - very funny

rocker – a curved piece of wood on which a rocking-horse (children's toy) is mounted

discretion is the better part of valour – a saying which means that it is unwise to take unnecessary risks

bichos (Sp.) - animal

aternity ward – a ward in a hospital where women are taken Care of during and after childbirth

elefanteria (Sp.) - a place favoured by elephant seals

I shivered my way into a half-sleep – shivering, I tried to sleep, but succeeded in falling only into a half-sleep

my cocoon of semi-warmth – my covering which protected me against the cold but did not give real warmth

a nerve- and spine-shattering experience – an experience that racked your nerves and could easily break your back (note the literal and figurative meanings of shatter, which come into play simultaneously)

creaming waves – waves with white froth resembling whipped cream

moving plate = moving picture: the word plate is here used in the sense of 'a thin sheet of metal upon which pictures are engraved, and from which impressions are taken', 'an impression printed from such a plate and used as an illustration in a book'

the fat was scalloped into folds – the author means that the fur seals' necks were adorned with scallops of fat, i.e. with a series of pleats or folds resembling the edge of a scallop-shell, sometimes used as ornament on the hem of a dress

beery face – a puffy face, betraying the effects of beer-drinking

Humpty Dumpty – the hero of a nursery rhyme, a person with a short round figure, shaped like an egg. Lewis Carroll chose him for one of the characters of his book Through the Looking-glass (sequel to Alice in Wonderland ). The world-famous illustrations for Carroll's books were made by John Tenniel (1820- 1914). In his picture of Humpty Dumpty seated on top of a wall, the artist brought out, in a most expressive manner, the conceit and arrogance with which Carroll endowed this personage.

frogman – an underwater swimmer equipped with long rubber shoes like a frog's hind feet

Balinese dancers (of the Bali Island, one of the islands lying east of Java) are famous for the grace and elegance of their performance

rumba (Sp.) - a Cuban Negro dance; a ballroom dance imitative of this folk dance

russet – reddish-brown

was a constant state of nerves (colloq.) - was in a permanent state of anxiety

Presbyterian – a member of the Presbyterian church. Presbyterians formed the right wine of the Puritans, the English variety of Calvinists who preached love of virtue, pure living, and self-restraint

was a wife short – missed one of his wives

dropsical-looking – looking swollen as if they had dropsy, a disease in which watery fluids collect in the tissues of the body

to feint – in box, to sham an attack to deceive the opponent by diverting his attention

one's elders and betters – persons deserving respect because of their age, experience and social standing

star-gazing – being in an absent-minded and dreamy state, like a person studying the stars (from the noun star-gazer 'one studying the stars to foretell the future')

balloon animals – toy animals made of rubber balloons filled with air

crèche (Fr.) - a public nursery where children are looked after while their mothers are at work

to dump (colloq.) - to deposit without ceremony, to let fall in a mass or a heap (usually applied to rubbish or coal)

The author means that he had plenty of character and determination, which amply compensated his small size

to lollop off – to walk off in a clumsy manner

Note the author's tendency to replace one of the words in a stock phrase, thus producing a humorous effect (cf. "as fast as his legs would carry him")

cummerbund (Anglo-Indian) - a waist sash

rumbaed towards it – moved towards it as if dancing the rumba

siesta [si'esta] (Sp.) - a short sleep taken at midday or in the afternoon, especially in hot countries

ploughed his way through them – forced his way, moving with difficulty among them, like a plough turning up earth

anatomy – the author's usual ironical synonym for body

life-giving nourishment – a humourous paraphrase for milk matching the high-flown verb to imbibe (synonym for drink )

a free drink – a drink for nothing, at someone else's expense

to negotiate – see note to p. 35; here this verb acquires an ironical ring, since Oswald has to overcome a living obstacle

in one's depth – in water not too deep to touch bottom (ant. out of one's depth)

pekinese (or pekingese) ['pi:ki'ni:z] – a small Chinese dog with short legs and a pug nose

none of them seemed any the worse – evidently none of them suffered from the ill effects of their swimming lesson

would hump themselves down – would move down, proceeding with the help of humping their backs (cf. the description of the elephant seals manner of movement on p. 78)

Elizabethan ruff – a kind of collar worn in the 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was made of white material, stiffly starched and standing up in folds touching each other

maypole – a high pole decorated with ribbons, flowers, etc., set up in the open for dancing round on May day, the first of May, celebrated in England as a spring festival