Gerald Durrell - The Whispering Land

capybara – the largest of now existing rodents, a tailless, partially web-footed animal that lives in and around lakes and streams in South America

unlikely – here not likely to be met with in this family

The author has in mind the well-known reconstruction of an ancient horse skeleton. The ancient horse had five toes; four of them were in time reduced and disappeared.

a hump-behind – a behind with a hump on it (a word formed by analogy with hump-back)

ague – here fit of shivering

nightcap (colloq.) – an alcoholic drink taken just before going to bed

at the crack of dawn – at break of day, very early in the morning

to fan out – to spread out in several directions (in fan-shape), a word usually applied to the movement of troops after a breakthrough

seriema – a crested Brazilian and Argentinean

coatimundi [,kouti'mundi] (or coati) – a small, flesh-eating mammal of Central and South America, resembling a raccoon (see the next note), but with a long flexible snout

raccoon – a small, tree-climbing, flesh-eating mammal of North America, active largely at night and characterized by long, yellow-black fur, black masklike markings around the eyes, and a long, black-ringed tail

M.I.5 – in England, the section of Military Intelligence which deals with matters of State security

ocelot ['ousilot] – a large wild cat of North and South America, with yellow or gray hide marked with black spots

to date – up to that time

council rubbish dump – the place in a city where rubbish is deposited (the word council here means 'local administrative body of a city, town or district')

flotsam and jetsam – worthless things, rubbish, trash (originally, flotsam was a term of naval law, meaning wreckage found floating on the sea, while jetsam meant goods thrown overboard to lighten a ship in distress)

the point of no return – a poetical paraphrase for death

character rendering – here personal remarks, personalities

fifty-fifty – equal, even

marquee [ma:'ki: ] – a big tent with open sides, especially one used for outdoor entertainments

professional – here a professional actor, one belonging to the theatrical profession, often called colloquially the profession (especially among actors)

puma – a long-tailed, slender, tawny-brown animal of the cat family, found in North and South America (also called mountain lion )

that bad (colloq.) – in such a bad state

trestle-table – a table made up of movable planks supported by a pair of trestles, special wooden frames consisting each of a horizontal beam with diverging legs

heel-taps – here the rhythmic sound made by the heels of the dancers

they had sung themselves from the heavens back to earth – they had passed the peak of their singing enthusiasm, which sounded like heaven to their listeners, and began to relax, as if coming hack to earth

vampire – in folklore and popular superstition, an evil spirit which enters a corpse that leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons; hence vampire bats – several species of tropical American bats, which live on the blood of animals

Luna's godfather – i.e. Luna himself, the man after whom the puma was named, as children are often named after their godparents

charmed – seemingly protected from harm as though by magic

collared peccary – a pig-like mammal of tropical America, about three feet long, greyish, with a white collar and sharp tusks

to have a soft spot for somebody – to have a weakness for somebody, to be unreasonably fond of somebody

an Eton collar – a broad, white linen collar, worn with a short black coat of a pupil of Eton college (an old public school for boys from privileged classes at Eton, near London)

retrousse [re'tru: sei] (Fr.) – turned up at the tip

I allowed her the run of the place – she was allowed to run free all about the place

ambrosial – delicious, fragrant like ambrosia (the food of the Gods and immortals in Greek and Roman mythology)

out of this world– a current expression meaning 'heavenly', i. e. 'not belonging to the ordinary world'

gourmet – a person who is expert in the choice of food and wine

to make sure of something – to act in such a way as to be certain of something (as here, to do everything to prevent the puma getting out of the cage)

Pegasus – in Greek mythology, a winged horse which sprang from the body of Medusa at her death. With a blow of his hoof he caused Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon; he became therefore the symbol of poetic inspiration. Durrell thinks of Pegasus because of the queer shape of the horses' saddles.

By using the word-combination bony steeds, Durrell creates a comic effect. The adjective bony looks and sounds much like the old poetic word bonny (or bonnie) meaning 'beautiful, handsome' and well-known from Scotch popular ballads, where it often went together with the poetic steed for horse.

to press-gang – to force into service, from press-gang, n. – a group of men who round up other men and force them into naval or military service

earth-shaking – Durrell uses the word ironically, meaning that their conclusion was anything but original or unexpected

epiphyte ['epifait] – a non-parasitic plant that grows on another plant but gets its nourishment from the air, as certain orchids, mosses, and lichens

orchid ['o: kid] – an epiphyte plant often growing on trees; its flowers, especially those of tropical varieties, are of very bright colors

liana – any luxuriantly growing woody tropical vine that roots in the ground and climbs around tree trunks

sure-footed – not likely to stumble, slip, or fall

macabrely – in a macabre, i.e. horrible or ghastly way

gooey (sl.) – sticky as glue

as I ducked and twisted my way – as I made my way twisting and ducking (by twisting the author means that his path in the undergrowth changed its direction all the time, and by ducking, that he had to jerk his head or the whole body downwards to avoid the blows of the branches)