GR translation: syringe and spike

[Mike Jing]

I agree it makes the most grammatical sense as a noun. That's why it
surprised me the OED thinks it's used as a verb here.  I also read it as a
verb at first, but with a completely different meaning.

On Thu, Jun 30, 2022 at 6:48 PM Michael Bailey <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Not to belabor the point, but my reason for pointing out that “syringe and
> spike” denotes a 2-word phrase describing a setup for giving people shots,
> is to opine that “spike” is being used as a noun.
>
> Usage of “spike” as a verb here doesn’t meet grammar or sense requirements
> nearly as well. One could make a case for secondary meanings or
> connotations, but for the primary meaning within the narrative flow, it’s a
> noun.
>
>
> Also, my secondary purpose is to remind that “syringe” by itself isn’t
> always equipped with a needle, and that saying “syringe and spike”
> imitates doctors’
> cant: both descriptive rigor and rude colloquialism - in keeping with the
> prose style in GR.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 30, 2022 at 8:43 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > We can all agree on the general scenario, there's little doubt about
> that.
> > The question is whether "spike" is used as a noun or a verb. I originally
> > thought it meant "rise suddenly", although in hindsight it doesn't seem
> > quite right either. The published translation treated it as the needle.
> It
> > probably doesn't matter too much in the end, since it doesn't really
> change
> > what happens here.
> >
> > Thanks for the reply, Michael.
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 11:04 PM Michael Bailey <
> > michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I think I read all the posts on this; apologies if somebody already
> >> mentioned this, but -
> >>
> >> The syringe is the tube thingie - a big one can be used without a needle
> >> to
> >> wash out one’s earwax, or we used to have a little one to refill ink
> >> cartridges for a fountain pen.
> >>
> >> But it can also be fitted with a needle (or in rough parlance, a spike)
> to
> >> give injections
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> https://www.amazon.com/Shintop-Syringe-Needles-Experiments-Industrial/dp/B074M4RB86
> >>
> >>
> >> Spiking away into the night does sound like fun, though - a foolish
> >> pleasure; the allusion isn’t that far fetched, but in context he’s
> taking
> >> the kit & caboodle (or in this case, the syringe and needle) away from
> the
> >> doctorly convo in the little office off the ward and into the night, in
> >> order to sedate a “Fox” ie a presumably howling & raving patient.
> >> --
> >> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >>
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>