AtDDtA(16): The Fatal Word

[Dave Monroe]

   "'Ahh ...'  D-----n!  There, there it was again, the fatal word!
the word he had been forbidden, on doctor's orders, in fact, even to
subvocalize ..." (AtD, Pt. III, p. 432)


"D-----n!"

"Damn!"? "Damnation!"?  Or ...?  Help!


subvocalize

Main Entry: sub·vo·cal·i·za·tion
Pronunciation: "s&b-"vO-k&-l&-'zA-sh&n
Function: noun
: the act or process of inaudibly articulating speech with the speech organs
- sub·vo·cal·ize  /"s&b-'vO-k&-"lIz/ verb

http://m-w.com/


"The Chums of Chance C.A.C.A., or Comprehensive Annual Coverage Agreement"

Caca: Spanish for "shit." The Chums have already begun to suspect the
"shit," i.e. the malevolent organization that lies behind their boys'
book heroics; the reader is now made aware of a large organization
(see B.I.N., below) standing behind the massive airships and their
crews. We all know what about the dynamics of large organizations, and
the percentage of the time they spend in serving their purported
purposes. Reminiscent of Van Vogt's Law: "90% of everything is shit
(caca)."

Not just Spanish; most western European languages. In German it's even
pronounced the same as K-K (Kaiserlich und Königlich, see Max Khäutsch
and Franz Ferdinand episodes).

http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_429-459#Page_432


Medicine Hat, Alberta

a.k.a. The Gas City, Canada's Sunniest City

http://www.medicinehat.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Hat,_Alberta


"Incipient Gamomania"

Main Entry: in·cip·i·ent
Pronunciation: -&nt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin incipient-, incipiens, present participle of incipere
to begin -- more at INCEPTION
: beginning to come into being or to become apparent <an incipient
solar system> <evidence of incipient racial tension>

http://m-w.com/dictionary/incipient

gamomania

1.  An obsessive desire for making bizarre marriage proposals.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gamomania

"Gamos" is Greek for "marriage," and mania means "mania" or "madness."

http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATD_429-459#Page_432

Cf. ...

"Their connubial bliss in tatters, at this juncture.  The bonds of
gamomania but a psider-work, at this juncture."

--Donald Barthelme, "Grandmother's House," Sixty Stories (1981),  p. 444

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780142437391,00.html

And recall ...

http://www.pynchon.pomona.edu/uncollected/barthelme.html

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_barthelme.html


"my governing desire"

Main Entry: cy·ber·net·ics
Pronunciation: "sI-b&r-'ne-tiks
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
Etymology: Greek kybernEtEs pilot, governor (from kybernan to steer,
govern) + English -ics
: the science of communication and control theory that is concerned
especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems (as
the nervous system and brain and mechanical-electrical communication
systems)

http://m-w.com/dictionary/cybernetics


"'to be no longer one, but two, a two which is, moreover, one--that
is, denumerably two, yet--'"

Main Entry: bi·lo·ca·tion
Pronunciation: 'bI-lO-"kA-sh&n
Function: noun
: the state of being or ability to be in two places at the same time

Main Entry: e plu·ri·bus unum
Pronunciation: "E-"plur-&-b&s-'(y)ü-n&m, "A-"plur-i-bus-'ü-num
Function: foreign term
Etymology: Latin
: one out of many -- used on the Great Seal of the United States and
on several United States coins

Main Entry: schizo·phre·nia
Pronunciation: "skit-s&-'frE-nE-&
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
1 : a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the
environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning
in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as
disorder of feeling, thought (as delusions), perception (as
hallucinations), and behavior -- called also dementia praecox --
compare PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA
2 : contradictory or antagonistic qualities or attitudes <both
parties...have exhibited schizophrenia over the desired outcome --
Elizabeth Drew>

Main Entry: de·nu·mer·a·ble
Pronunciation: di-'n(y)ü-m&-r&-b&l
Function: adjective
: COUNTABLE
- de·nu·mer·a·bil·i·ty  /-"n(y)ü-m&-r&-'bi-l&-tE/ noun
- de·nu·mer·a·bly  /-'n(y)ü-m&-r&-blE/ adverb

http://m-w.com/dictionary/


"wearing white coats"

Why italicized?  Help!


"X.O. duties"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_officer


"the C. of C. Biometric Insititute of Neuropathy"

biometric

Main Entry: biometrics
Pronunciation: -'me-triks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
1 : BIOMETRY
2 : the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral
characteristics (as fingerprint or voice patterns) especially as a
means of verifying personal identity

Main Entry: biometrics
Pronunciation: -'me-triks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
1 : BIOMETRY
2 : the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioral
characteristics (as fingerprint or voice patterns) especially as a
means of verifying personal identity

http://m-w.com/dictionary/

Cf. ...

   "The old doctor felt my pulse, evidently thinking of something else
the  while.  'Good, good for there,' he mumbled, and then with a
certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.
Rather surprised, I said Yes, when he produced a thing like calipers
and got the dimensions back and front and every way, taking notes
carefully. [...]  'I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to
measure the crania of those going out there,' he said.  'And when they
come back, too?' I asked.  'Oh, I never see them,' he remarked; 'and,
moreover, the changes take place inside, you know.'"

--Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/526

neuropathy

Cf. ...

"a neuropathy had taken over the Chums of Chance organization" (p. 418)

Main Entry: neu·rop·a·thy
Pronunciation: nu-'rä-p&-thE, nyu-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -thies
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary
: an abnormal and usually degenerative state of the nervous system or
nerves; also : a systemic condition that stems from a neuropathy

http://m-w.com/dictionary/neuropathy

Neuropathy is usually short for peripheral neuropathy, meaning a
disease of the peripheral nerve or nerves....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropathy

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0708&msg=120858


"a 'battery' of mental tests"

Main Entry: bat·tery
Pronunciation: 'ba-t(&-)rE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ter·ies
Etymology: Anglo-French baterie, from batre to beat, from Latin battuere
1 a : the act of battering or beating b : an offensive touching or use
of force on a person without the person's consent -- compare ASSAULT
2a
2 [Middle French batterie, from battre to beat] a : a grouping of
artillery pieces for tactical purposes b : the guns of a warship
3 : an artillery unit in the army equivalent to a company
4 a : a combination of apparatus for producing a single electrical
effect b : a group of two or more cells connected together to furnish
electric current; also : a single cell that furnishes electric current
<a flashlight battery> c plural : level of energy or enthusiasm <needs
a vacation to recharge her batteries>
5 a : a number of similar articles, items, or devices arranged,
connected, or used together : SET, SERIES <a battery of tests> b : a
usually impressive or imposing group : ARRAY
6 : the position of readiness of a gun for firing
7 : the pitcher and catcher of a baseball team

http://m-w.com/dictionary/battery