GR translation: but expect to be taken seriously

[Mike Jing]

That's what I thought. On the other hand, he is acting all smooth and
suave as Cary Grant, so I'm no longer entirely sure.


On Wed, Nov 26, 2025 at 9:16 PM Mike Weaver <mike.weaver at zen.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi Mike,
>
> That's a challenging one. I think he's saying she can't distract from
> the serious matter at hand by lightening the exchange with flirtation.
>
> cheers M-other.
>
> On 26/11/2025 12:43, Mike Jing wrote:
> > V661.38-40, P675.1-3   “Flirt if you want,” Enzian now just as smooth as
> > that Cary Grant, “but expect to be taken seriously.” Oh, ho. Here’s
> whatcha
> > came for, folks.
> >
> > The published translation interpreted this sentence as "but be prepared,
> > people may take your flirtations seriously", which doesn't seem right to
> > me. What exactly is Enzian saying here?
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>