ATDTDA (2): What Lew Notices (42.29 - 38)

[Tim Strzechowski]

A plump and dapper individual was in buying domestic cheroots.  He watched Lew for a while, just short of staring, before asking, with a nod at the display, "That box on the bottom shelf -- how many colorado-claros left in it?  Without looking, I mean."
 
[...]  "What was that just went by the window?"
 
"Shiny black little trap, three springs, brass fittings, bay gelding about four years old, portly gent in a slouch hat and a yellow duster, why?" (p. 42).
 


The Cheroot or Stogie is a cylindrical cigar with both ends clipped during manufacture. Since cheroots do not taper, they are inexpensive to roll mechanically, and their low cost makes them particularly popular. Typically, stogies have a length of 3.5 to 6.5 inches, and a ring gage of 34 to 37. (Ring gage is a measure of diameter, scaled in 64ths of an inch. A stogie is slightly over 1/2" in diameter.)
The term stogie is often misused to refer to any cigar with a foul stench. Many stogies are made of flavored tobaccos, and given that a stogie may last a half hour, as opposed to the 2-3 minutes that a cigarette typically lasts, there can be quite a stench produced. [...]

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

http://www.outlooktraveller.com/magazine/362/images/Cheroots_Gireesh%20G.V.jpg

Scroll down here to see a box of "colorado-claros":

http://www.reon.com/cigpicd.htm


The application of the term "Trap" to vehicles that can be converted from two to four passengers, or the reverse, by changing the position of one or both seats, is justified by, its origin in connection with carriages. The term is an English one, and was first applied to a gig, built with an extension, back of the seat, forming a box in which sportsmen carried their dogs. The back end was provided with a hinged door, which was let down when access was desired to the box. This door was termed a trap door and the curtailment of the name left "trap" as the designation for the vehicle. This vehicle became known afterward as a "dog cart," while the enlarged body on four wheels retained the original designation. After a time "trap" obtained hold as a colloquialism in England synonymous with the term "turnout" in this country, when reference was made to a pleasure carriage and its necessary adjuncts. The term however did not obtain a foothold in this country until the advent of adjustable
 seat carriages having tail boards, applied to these the term is sufficiently definite, to indicate the general character of the vehicle, but its application to vehicles that cannot be adjusted to accommodate two of four passengers, by changing the position of one or both seats and to enclose one seat, so that if cannot be seen when one only is used, is a misnomer and brands the one applying it as one ignorant of the nomenclature of his art. [...]

http://www.carriagemuseumlibrary.org/evolution-traps.htm


"Bay" is apparently a type/breed of horse.  

gelding n. A castrated animal, especially a male horse. [Middle English, from Old Norse geldingr , from gelda , to geld.]

http://www.answers.com/main/ntq-tname-gelding-fts_start-0

Ummm ... I'm no equestian, so any help out there on further defining a "bay gelding" is appreciated!

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt hat with a chinstrap most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by eighteenth century armies. The distinctive Australian slouch hat has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat in order to allow a rifle to be slung over the shoulder. This style of hat did not originate in Australia, being introduced there by British officers or former British officers around 1885 and was sometimes described as a 'Tyrolean' import. But as other armies rejected the once-popular headwear (as the British army did in 1905) it has become associated with the Australian military. From World War I it was manufactured in Australia by the Akubra company for the army. This slouch hat is still worn by the Australian military today. [...]

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

http://www.5rar.asn.au/hat.htm

http://www.circlekb.com/page/CKCG/CTGY/CWSH