MDMD: Pynchon's Mystakes (formerly Re: Buzz-Men)

[Nicole Slagter]

As you say, Rob J., an interesting passage. It's hard to argue with the 
OED, but I can't quite reconcile myself to "Buzz-men" meaning pickpockets. 
>From the context I make it out to mean something like hucksters, travelling 
salesmen, conmen, `selling' Rebekah Mason, rather than his Representation, 
I don't think they wanted money for that. That would fit with their being 
turned out "in that flash way of Naboblets", wouldn't it? I read the passage 
as Rebekah wondering whether she was conned into accepting Mason as a husband--
and, one frame upwards, Mason putting these words into her mouth out of guilt 
for being an inadequate husband; not so much for his disappointing looks as, 
for instance, for his frequent absences. Incidentally, "Naboblets" (which 
Terrance asked about) I first took to mean the same as "chicken Nabobs" 
(see p. 176 or p. 209, the latter instance explains that phrase pretty well), 
namely Nabobs of small rather than large fortune, but later I wondered 
whether it might mean sons of Nabobs, India born and bred maybe. That might 
explain their difficulties with the language? I admit all this is pretty 
speculative. 

Just one other remark; I think the "Good Eggs" of p. 198, "outnumber[ing] the 
Bad Hats", are people, the pub regulars, (the opposites of a bad egg, `person 
that comes to no good' according to my Concise Oxford) rather than the actual 
eggs found in British pubs. 

I do hope the reading will be extended; a hiatus over the holidays does seem 
a good idea. Thanks, one and all, for your input so far; it hasn't gone 
unappreciated.