a certain fame a bad reputation.
a crow to pluck (slang) a bone to pick.
a crusade in search of valises and portmanteaus to enable Mrs. M'Coy to fulfil imaginary engagements in the country apparently M'Coy borrows luggage under false pretenses so as to pawn or sell it.
a decent skin (Irish slang) a good person underneath it all.
a league a temperance association; its members would have pledged to avoid alcohol.
a little of the ready (slang) with money available.
a loan of influence on.
a mass morning a Holy Day of Obligation, on which all observant Catholics must attend Mass.
a pass free admission.
"Arrayed for the Bridal" a song from I Puritani, an opera by Vincenzo Bellini.
a sod of turf under his oxter that is, each student was expected to help heat the school by bringing fuel. In Ireland, turf was burned to provide heat; "oxter" is slang for armpit.
a sup taken had a drink of alcohol.
about town a euphemism for unemployed.
across the water (Irish slang) in England.
Adam and Eve's a nickname for the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in southwest-central Dublin.
advanced Nationalist a supporter of the Irish Parliamentary Party, which sought independence for the country.
air a song or tune.
an a.p. (slang) an appointment.
an Irish device a Celtic emblem.
An irregular musketry a sound like many guns being fired, though not simultaneously.
an order on the cashier official permission for an advance on wages.
And everything . . . ? apparently the boy's aunt seeks to establish that last rites were bestowed upon Father Flynn by a priest before death; only a profoundly disgraced priest would be refused last rites, so the fact that she has to ask implies much about Father Flynn's misbehavior.
areas spaces providing light and air to the basements of houses.
astrakhan a wool fabric with a pile cut and curled to look like a loosely curled fur made from the pelt of very young lambs originally bred near Astrakhan, a city and port in southwest Russia.
Atalanta a beautiful, swift-footed maiden who offers to marry any man able to defeat her in a race: Hippomenes wins by dropping three golden apples, which she stops to pick up, along the way. The motif of Greek mythology (including the image of the golden apple) will reappear in Gabriel Conroy's speech in "The Dead."
back answers back-talk; insolence.
Balfe Michael William Balfe; composer of The Bohemian Girl.
Ballast Office the location of the Dublin Port and Docks Board; in "The Dead," Gabriel Conroy's father is said to have worked there.
Ballast Offices the location of the Dublin Port and Docks Board, where the father of Gabriel Conroy (protagonist of "The Dead") is said to have worked.
Ballsbridge a suburb southeast of Dublin.
barmbracks cakes, traditionally served in Ireland on Halloween, in which symbolic objects (a ring, for example) have been baked.
barracks buildings on Shelbourne Road for housing British soldiers.
beannacht libh (Irish) goodbye.
Bewley's a chain of coffeehouses.
big rate-payer a property owner.
Bile Beans a popular patent medicine in Ireland during Joyce's day.
bitter bitter, strongly hopped ale.
blackthorn stick a cane or stick made from the stem of the blackthorn, a thorny, white-flowered prunus shrub with purple or black plumlike fruit.
Blackwhite apparently a renowned Irish salesman.
blancmange a sweet, molded, jellylike dessert made with starch or gelatin, milk, flavoring, and other ingredients.
Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–90) a French nun beatified in 1864 and canonized in 1920.
blind a dead-end; A dead-end features prominently in "Two Gallants," as well.
bona-fide travelers inns and pubs were allowed to serve alcohol to travelers before or after hours during which it was generally legal to do so; thus, Mr. Harford and his friends "travel" to the suburbs so as to be allowed to drink legally on Sundays.
bostoons (Irish) rogues.
bowsy (slang) rogue.
breviary a book containing the Psalms, readings, prayers, and so on of the Divine Office.
Brown Thomas's a Dublin fabric shop.
"Cadet Roussel" (French) a song from the 1790s.
caraway a white-flowered biennial herb of the umbel familiy, with spicey, strong-smelling seeds. The seeds, when chewed, were thought to hide the smell of alcohol, and thus were offered to customers by turn-of-the-century Dublin bars.
Castle hacks informers. The British ruled Ireland from Dublin Castle, in central Dublin just south of the River Liffey.
catacombs any of a series of vaults or galleries in an underground burial place. During the first and second century, persecuted Christians hid in the catacombs beneath Rome.
Catechism a handbook of questions and answers for teaching the principles of a religion.
catholic all-inclusive.
chaffed teased good naturedly.
charmeuse a smooth fabric of silk; like satin in appearance but softer and having less body.
cheval-glass a full-length mirror mounted on swivels in a frame.
Christy Minstrels a popular nineteenth-century American theatrical troupe featuring white performers made up to look like stereotypical black characters.
cocks him up (slang) encourages an inflated self-image.
cocottes (French) literally, hens. Probably used by Galaher to mean prostitutes.
collected used stamps for some pious purpose selling used postage stamps to collectors to raise money for charity.
combing-jacket a bathrobe.
Conservatives the party in favor of maintaining union with England.
considering cap an Irish term equivalent to the American term "thinking cap."
convent a convent school.
coping the top layer of a masonry wall, usually sloped to carry off water.
corn-factor's an agent for the sale of corn.
Credo! (Latin) I believe!
cretonne a heavy, unglazed, printed cotton or linen cloth; used for curtains, slipcovers, and so on.
cricket a game associated by the Irish with the English conquest of their country.
Crux upon Crux obviously a misquotation, as even if the Pope had a motto, it wouldn't include English words.
curate a clergyman who assists a vicar or rector.
curates (slang) barmen.
