GR translation: cut him loose

[Michael Lee Bailey]

“Truly ridiculous” is a harsh way to describe the plan to free Springer, though, on reflection. There’s a thin line of plausibility somewhere near the action, in places.

Maybe “antic,” or “baroque”?

On Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 3:34 AM, Mike Jing <[gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com](mailto:On Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 3:34 AM, Mike Jing <<a href=)> wrote:

> That's what I finally suspected this time. Thanks, Michael.
>
> On Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM Michael Lee Bailey < michaelleebailey at pm.me> wrote:
>
>> Cut him loose - usually it means to sever ties with someone
>>
>> But it’s a very chaotic scene
>>
>> Zhdaev, acting for Tchitcherine, has abducted Der Springer.
>>
>> And I think that Slothrop and Närrisch are about to free Der Springer, who is stoned on sodium Amytal & spouting nonsense such as “she baffs at nothing, the heterospeed”, from Tchitcherine’s clutches with a truly ridiculous plan … (reading on a little) … yes, cutting von Göll loose from his captivity
>>
>> The opposite of severing ties
>>
>> On Sun, Jun 29, 2025 at 2:17 AM, Mike Jing < [gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com](mailto:On+Sun,+Jun+29,+2025+at+2:17+AM,+Mike+Jing+%3C%3Ca+href=)> wrote:
>>
>>> V503.20-29, P511.36-512.4
>>> “I warned him, but he laughed. ‘Another leap, Närrisch. I have to keep
>>> leaping, don’t I?’”
>>>
>>> “Well what do you want to do now, cut him loose?”
>>>
>>> There is some excitement amidships. The Russians have thrown back a tarp to
>>> reveal the chimps, who are covered with vomit, and have also broken into
>>> the vodka. Haftung blinks and shudders. Wolfgang is on his back, sucking at
>>> a gurgling bottle he is clutching with his feet. Some of the chimps are
>>> docile, others are looking for a fight.
>>>
>>> “Somehow . . .” Slothrop does wish the man would quit talking this way, “I
>>> owe him—that much.”
>>>
>>> What does "cut him loose" mean here?
>>>
>>> OED lists two possible meanings:
>>>
>>> P.2.a.i.i.
>>> To cut (someone or something) away from an anchor or restraint (literal and
>>> figurative); to free, release.
>>>
>>> P.2.a.i.ii.
>>> Originally U.S. figurative. To cast (someone or something) adrift; spec. to
>>> put an end to a relationship with (a person); to give (something) up.
>>> --
>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l