Chapter 18

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==Page 126==
'''his enthusiasm with the dizzy-stick''' 
"dizzy-stick" was 1930s slang for a marijuana cigarette, a joint.

'''Arnold Rothstein and Legs Diamond''' 
Rothstein (1882-1928) and Jack "Legs" Diamond (1887-1931) were real-life underworld figures whose stories set the template for the "gentleman gangster" and the "dapper killer" archetypes that later filled noir fiction. In November 1928, Rothstein was shot at the Park Central Hotel, reportedly over an unpaid poker debt of about $320,000. Legs Diamond was known for his daring personality, flashy clothes, and fondness for showgirls. Known as "the clay pigeon of the underworld" because of how many times he was shot and survived, in December 1931 he was shot in bed in an Albany boarding house, almost certainly a mob hit. He became a tabloid folk hero, the Irish dandy-gangster who defied bullets and lawmen until the end.

Rothstein financed operations that Legs Diamond worked on or later tried to take over, but viewed Diamond as unreliable — flashy, violent, too hot-headed for "The Brain’s" style. After Rothstein’s murder in 1928, Diamond tried to move into his rackets, which brought him into conflict with other New York mobsters like Dutch Schultz.

'''not just Tammany Hall''' 
Tammany Hall was the Democratic political machine that dominated New York City politics for nearly two centuries — a legendary blend of grassroots organizing, patronage, and corruption. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammany_Hall Wikipedia]

'''but worst and least merciful [...] New York real estate''' 
Perhaps alluding to D. Trump, former NY real-estate tycoon.

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'''Portland sets fast, Rosendale lasts longer''' 
Refers to two types of cement, both historically important in American construction. Limestone in the Rosendale area was found to produce a hydraulic cement (one that sets underwater). Although Rosendale cement was prized for durability and slow curing making it ideal for masonry, foundations, and underwater construction by the early 20th century, it lost ground to Portland cement, which was faster to set and could be made anywhere from artificial mixes.

'''Racine, where Danish pastries were invented''' 
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Danish immigrants settled heavily in the Midwest, especially in Chicago, Racine (Wisconsin), and Omaha. Chicago, already famous for its bakeries and food fairs, became the hub of Scandinavian baking traditions. Around the 1910s–1920s, Danish master bakers began opening neighborhood bakeries, adapting traditional wienerbrød recipes to American ingredients (sweeter doughs, more fillings, and icings). The American Danish pastry was born in Chicago, but its soul was preserved in Racine. Chicago made it fashionable; Racine made it traditional.

'''Gould Fisk Fidelity and Trust'''
Jay Gould and James Fisk were involved in a notorious attempt to corner the gold market in 1869, which led to a financial panic known as Black Friday. Their manipulative tactics included bribery and insider trading, which caused significant financial losses for ordinary investors. (interesting name for a bank and maybe why it didn't 'smell like a bank')

==Page 128==
'''"Only a harmless episode of international transnavigation..."''' 
This mock-grandiose, pseudo-scientific nonsense is typical of how W. C. Fields characters delivered their lines.

'''"even along the death trail"''' 
The "death trail" was a nickname used by touring entertainers — especially Black musicians, dancers, comedians, and novelty acts in the 1920s–1940s — to describe a particular stretch of small-town theater bookings that were underpaid, under-promoted, dangerous to travel through, racially hostile, and often physically exhausting due to long distances between stops. That is, it was the worst leg of the tour, the part where careers could stall, acts could break up, and performers could go broke (or worse).

==Page 129==
'''Club Afterbeat up in Harlem''' 
Although this is likely a fictional joint, in Harlem slang of the 1920s–40s, the "after beat" scene meant when the main clubs closed and musicians & dancers went somewhere unofficial to keep the music going. The "after beat" also refers to beats two and four in 4/4 time.

'''"Heavy-side Bounce'''" 
"Heavy-side bounce" is Harlem ballroom / dance slang from the mid-1920s through the 1940s.
It refers to a specific way of carrying weight in rhythm while dancing, especially in early swing, jazz walk, and Lindy Hop. It is not about jumping; it’s about where the weight sits in the step. It comes from Black social-dance tradition.

'''"the Civilized World's Most Sophisticated Couple"''' 
Although Rex and Rhonda are likely fictional, that tagline was a stock publicity line used for ballroom exhibition dance duos in the late 1920s and 1930s, especially in hotel floor shows, supper-club revues, and radio-remote dance broadcasts.

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'''It's the bum's rush''' 
To throw someone out of a place quickly and roughly — usually a bar, club, or theater — without ceremony, the physical act of bouncers grabbing an unwanted person under the arms and hustling them out the door, sometimes literally kicking them into the street.

Chapter 10

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==Page 62==
'''gemütlich state of mind''' 
German: cheerful, upbeat

==Page 63==
'''straw boxes few and far between''' 
“straw boxes” referred to police call boxes or small sentry / kiosk stations that officers used while patrolling their beats.

'''wrong end of a roscoe''' 
to be on the receiving end of a gun, i.e., having a pistol pointed at you. In American underworld slang from the 1910s–1940s, a “roscoe” meant a handgun, typically a revolver. It’s part of the same family of old gun slang: gat, rod, heater, equalizer, piece, cannon, gun.

'''Sombrero of Uneasiness''' 
Comes from a 1930s American expression that was used humorously or metaphorically to describe a feeling of anxious self-consciousness — like having a visible sign of worry “on your head.” A tongue-in-cheek way to dramatize social embarrassment or creeping anxiety. It’s a comic metaphor... imagine someone sitting in a room wearing a big sombrero — conspicuous, out of place, calling attention to himself. The “uneasiness” is similarly visible and impossible to hide.

==Page 65==
'''swift-finger once-over''' 
a quick, practiced frisk or search, usually by a crook, cop, or pickpocket.

==Page 66==
'''flappers of both sexes''' 
Male flappers were often called "sheiks" and represented a rebellious, modern man who embraced jazz, dancing, and a more leisurely lifestyle, challenging the older generation's traditional values. While flappers were defined by their short hair and fashion, the male equivalent was characterized by fashionable, somewhat less formal attire, including shorter pants like knickers, slicked-back hair, and the inclusion of accessories like fedoras, pocket squares, and bow ties. They were fading by the early 1930s.

[[image:plus-fours.jpg|thumb|150px|right]]'''dimwits in plus fours''' 
These would be foolish or pretentious men (often golfers, would-be aristocrats, or self-important playboys) dressed in plus-fours — the baggy, knee-length golfing breeches fashionable in the 1920s–1930s. Vain, empty-headed upper-class men who took fashion or sport too seriously.

'''''Heiliger Bimbam''''' 
A colorful old German exclamation, roughly equivalent to “Holy cow!”, “Good heavens!”, or “For crying out loud!” in English.

'''make anxiously for the ''ausgang''''' 
German: exit

'''hired urchins''' 
street kids paid to do someone’s dirty or menial work.

==Page 67==
'''bung starter''' 
A bung starter is a small mallet for opening or sealing casks for brewing, cooperage (barrel-making);

==Page 68==
'''''auf deine Gesundheit''''' 
German: to your health! (a toast)

'''SMEGMA''' 
Semi-Military Entity Greater Milwaukee; "smegma" makes an appearance in ''Gravity's Rainbow'' and ''Against the Day'';

Smegma is in common parlance a harmless combination of oils, skin cells, sweat and other fluids that build up around your genitals. It looks like crumbly cheese and usually has a foul odor. Obviously one of Pynchon's little jokes or possibly a commentary on the military

==Page 69==
'''''mein kleiner Neffe''''' 
German: my little nephew

Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 18

Chapter 10