Not P but Moby-Dick (59)

[Mike Jing]

OK, this is actually quoted by OED, and the definition is:

beef
2.b. colloquial. = ‘Flesh’ (of men). Also, strength, muscular power; effort.

Thanks for the reply.


On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 5:23 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> perhaps a double meaning?
>
>
> lay on the beef= to work hard, so here to pull harder on the oars or row
> harder to catch up to the whale
>
> lay like a log= similar to "sleep like a log" = not moving at all, still
>
> On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 5:16 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I got it. He's talking about supper, same as "slap-jacks and quohogs for
>> supper" below.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 5:07 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > From Chapter 81:
>> >
>> > “Oh!  see the suds he makes! ” cried Flask, dancing up and down—“What a
>> > hump—Oh, do pile on the beef—lays like a log!  Oh!  my lads, do
>> > spring—slap-jacks and quohogs for supper, you know, my lads—baked clams
>> and
>> > muffins—oh, do, do, spring—he’s a hundred barreler—don’t lose him
>> > now—don’t, oh, don’t!
>> >
>> >  What does "pile on the beef" mean here?
>> >
>> >
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>