Chapter 20

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the A.J. Raffles principle that a successful jewel thief needs a legitimate cover, such as a star cricketer
A.J. Raffles was a fictional "gentleman thief" with a public identity as an amateur cricket player in a series of stories by E.W. Hornung. Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law, and at one time, Raffles was the second most popular fictional character in England, after Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Raffles was in some ways a kind of mirror image of the famous detective, with his own Dr. Watson-like sidekick and chronicler. Raffles was played by actor Ronald Colman in a 1930 film.

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Oh Alfalfa [...] it was a KL, and I scarcely knew which end of it to point.

This refers to the Dutch Luger (“KL” = Koninklijk Leger = “Royal Army” in Dutch) which was manufactured from the early 20th C. to WW II. It was issued to Dutch colonial forces, in the Dutch East Indies. Its date fits in to the novel’s timeline perfectly. The Dutch KL Luger was considered more complex than necessary for colonial warfare, and this complexity is what likely what Pips was complaining about.

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where popes make arrangements with Fascists
In 1929, Italy's fascist leader Benito Mussolini, once a radical anti-clericalist, signed agreements with the papacy affirming the pope’s sovereignty over Vatican City and the church’s special position in Italian politics and society.

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Soupe de canard
French: Duck soup, easily done. Also a likely nod to the Marx Brothers' 1933 film Duck Soup.

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Fortuny Delphos gown

A style of silk dress with many fine pleats, created in the early 20th century by French designer Henriette Negrin and her husband, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, and inspired by a classical Greek statue, the Charioteer of Delphi.

Cómo no, mi amigo
Spanish: Of course, my friend.

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Felíz como lombriz
Spanish: Happy as a clam.

tipo fácil
Spanish: easy type

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pero qué carajo
Spanish: But what the hell