GR translation: demolition man

[Monte Davis]

Jochen is correct about "demolition man" in  general, but in a WWII context
I think it means Explosive Ordnance Disposal,  someone who *disarms* bombs.
A "trembler" is a vibration-sensitive switch, its central tongue (an
electrical contact) closing the circuit if it touches either the "high"
contact above or the "low" contact beneath.

 

From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of Mike Jing
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 2:22 AM
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Subject: GR translation: demolition man

 

P234.35-235.4  In the second antechamber is an empty red tin that held
coffee. The brand name is Savarin. He understands that it means to say
"Severin." Oh, the filthy, the mocking scoundrel. . . . But these are not
malignant puns against an intended sufferer so much as a sympathetic magic,
a repetition high and low of some prevailing form (as, for instance, no sane
demolition man at his evening dishwater will wash a spoon between two cups,
or even between a glass and a plate, for fear of the Trembler it implies . .
. because it's a trembler-tongue he really holds, poised between its two
fatal contacts, in fingers aching with having been so suddenly reminded). .
. .

What is the "demolition man" mentioned here?  Why the fear of tremblers?
What is a trembler anyway?

Also, what is the meaning of "high and low" in "a repetition high and low"?

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