The Whispering Land

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)

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the point of no return – a poetical paraphrase for death

character rendering – here personal remarks, personalities

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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)

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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

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charmed – seemingly protected from harm as though by magic

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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

gooey (sl.) - sticky as glue

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