The Whispering Land

seraphic – angelic
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to leave somebody to his own devices – to allow him to do as he likes
tyro ['taierou] – a beginner, an inexperienced person
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gato (Sp.) - a cat
chico gato montes (Sp.) - a small mountain cat
conundrum – puzzling question or problem; a mystery
with fourteen Martians in tow – followed by fourteen imaginary inhabitants of the planet Mars
loco (Sp.) – mad, crazy
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tabby – the common type of domestic cat, grey with dark stripes (the name is usually applied to a female cat)
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takes the edge off his potential viciousness – makes him less vicious. Literally, the expression means 'to make blunt': e. g. to take the edge off a knife; but it is also widely used figuratively, meaning 'to make less sharp or keen: e. g. to take the edge off an argument.
Lifemanship – the art of living, of coexistence (a word coined by analogy with penmanship 'the art of, or skill in, writing')
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outboard engine (or motor) – a small internal-combustion engine with a propeller, fastened to the stern of a small boat and producing a loud noise
debauched (from debauch, v.) - dissipated, given to intemperance (as excessive eating or drinking)
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by virtue of your grasshopper-like activities – owing to the way you keep rushing from one place to another (again Durrell chooses an elaborate, scientific-sounding mode of expression, with by virtue of and activities)
frond – the usual name for a palm leaf (or that of a fern)
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you could do worse than go and investigate – you might just as well go and investigate
the time off – here a leave of absence
to get into one's stride – literally, to begin walking with long and measured steps; figuratively, to be carried away in some process (e. g. of talking)
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semi-inebriated – half-drunk, half-intoxicated (a bookish word)
to sport - here to wear or exhibit, especially in great quantities
Durrell means that the wagon-driver's moustache was allowed to grow without any hindrance, as plants are in a nature reserve.
blancmange (Fr.) - a sweet jelly-like dessert made of a starchy substance and milk, sugar and almond
mucha agua (Sp.) - much water
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in next to no time – very quickly, almost instantly
to play a fish – to let a fish tire itself out while hooked by tugging at the line
que pasa? (Sp.) - what has happened?
nafta no hay (Sp.) - there's no fuel
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our nether regions – the lower part of our bodies (nether - jocular for lower, under, as in nether garments)
in his shirt-tails – without trousers, in his shirt only (this humorous expression is a cross between the two idiomatic phrases: in one's shirt-sleeves 'without a coat' and in one's tails 'in full dress, in a dress-coat')
to roar into life – to come to life with a roar (an engine roars when being started up)
water hazard – here an obstacle in the form of a river (the term comes from golf, where the word hazard means 'any obstruction in playing a stroke, including bunkers, traps, ponds, roadways, etc')
apron – here a shield made of some hard material and placed below a dam or across a river-bed to protect it from damage by water
purchase – here a mechanical advantage, a fast hold
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to nose – here to push or move with the nose or front forward
to stall – of an engine, to stop working (from overload, etc.)
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Fairy Godmother – a good fairy from fairy tales, who appears quite unexpectedly at the very moment she is badly wanted and helps her god-child out of trouble (e. g. in the tale of Cinderella). Being a fairy she can appear in different disguise, hence the authors description ("heavily disguised…").
took in our predicament in a glance – understood at once our awkward situation (in a glance = at a glance)
An ironical reference to the Duke of Wellington's (1769- 1852) military preparations before the battle of Waterloo (1815), where his army defeated Napoleon
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to quarter – here to pass over an area of ground in every direction in search of game (the word is usually applied to hunting-dogs)
bibulous – addicted to alcoholic liquor, to drinking; in this roundabout way the author describes invitations to differ-ent drinking-parties
jardin zoologico (Sp.) - a zoological garden, a zoo
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the well of the house – a shaft in a building or between buildings, open to the sky for light and air; airshaft
yellow-naped macaw [me'ko:] – a large, bright-colored, harsh-voiced parrot of Central and South America
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Brazilian rabbit – a burrowing rodent of the hare family, smaller than most hares and having soft fur, long ears, and a bobbed tail (the rodents are characterized by constantly growing incisors, or cutting teeth, adapted for gnawing or nibbling; on this group of mammals see also p. 119)
agouti – a rodent of the guinea-pig family, the size of a rabbit; orange-rumped – having an orange-colored rump, i.e. posterior (including the buttocks)
nervous breakdown – a state of extreme depression
patio ['paetiou] (Sp.) - a courtyard or inner area open to the sky, common in Spanish and South-American architecture
accoutrement – personal outfit or equipment; when used in the plural, the word generally means military outfit
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to relieve – here to make less monotonous, to brighten
canary-yellow – a light yellow color, like that of a canary bird, a small yellow song bird, native to the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores
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to take kindly to something – to get easily accustomed to something
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capybara – the largest of now existing rodents, a tailless, partially web-footed animal that lives in and around lakes and streams in South America