MD3PAD 61-63

[David Casseres]

I'd bet anything it's an archaic Afrikaans euphemism, Biblically
derived, for shithouse.  And Pynchon discovered it when poring over
some old collection of letters from Dutch settlers at the Cape, having
learned Dutch and Afrikaans in order to do so.  That, or he pays some
king-hell researchers to find stuff like this.

On 1/24/06, Ghetta Life <ghetta_outta at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Sure, foreign language italics.  But dispens is not, to my knowlege, slang
> in any language to mean dispensory.  But it's not far off.   But WHY (not
> necesarily a deep quest) is my question.
>
> Ghetta
>
> >From: jbor at bigpond.com
> >
> >Dutch? Afrikaans?
> >
> >best
> >
> >On 25/01/2006:
> >
> >>Makes sense to me, but one wonders why Pynchon uses this word, in italics
> >>even.
> >>
> >>>Dispensary? Something like a storeroom or cupboard?
> >>>
> >>>>Cornelius keeps elephant guns nearby to defend the honor of his
> >>>>daughters. He keeps one in  "Dispens" out back? The word Dispens is in
> >>>>italics. What does it mean - outhouse?
> >
>
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