gimlet a popular British colonial drink made from gin and lime juice. Originally it was believed that gimlets were good for staving off scurvy. Since then it has become a popular American drink and is often made with vodka and lime juice.
quid slang for the British pound, a currency that—at the time of this story—was worth approximately five dollars.
court games squash, handball, and other games played in exclusive men’s clubs.
giant killer liquor; in this case, Scotch whiskey.
Swahili the so-called “lingua franca,” or universal language used through South Central Africa—Kenya, Zaire, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and along the trading coast. Swahili is a mixture of native dialects (principally Bantu) with some Hindi, German, French and English added to it.
Mathiaga Club a big game hunters club in Nairobi, Kenya. White hunters are professional hunters/guides who arrange and accompany clients on big game hunts, or safaris.
buffalo the buffalo mentioned in this story is nothing like the American buffalo, or bison. The Cape Buffalo is a large, horned creature that is considered by hunters to be the most dangerous of all African big game. It is mean and cunning and extremely strong, invulnerable to all but the best-placed shots.
impala a type of antelope that makes prodigious leaps to see if enemies are near. It is very similar to the eland antelope.
kippers and coffee the British are fond of kippered herring—brine-soaked and smoked filets of fish, served most often for breakfast.
.505 Gibbs a very large caliber hunting rifle. While his clients may use smaller guns, a safari guide must carry a sure killer in case the amateur misses and he must make the kill at the last moment—as in the case of Macomber and the lion.
gut shot a shot into the stomach of an animal.
Memsahib “Lady” in Swahili; a title of respect derived from a Hindu word.
Bwana “Mister” or “Master”; a term of respect.
windy British slang for “nervous.”
Martin Johnson an American hunter and motion picture producer who made many films about big game hunts.
mosquito bar a net on a bar hung over a cot to keep out insects, particularly mosquitoes.
beggar the word Hemingway originally used was “bugger,” a derogatory British term for someone or something disagreeable; however, the term is also synonymous with a sodomite, which was distasteful to Hemingway’s editor—thus his substitution of “beggar.” Remember that this story was originally published in 1936; today, in the United States, we casually use the term “bastard” with the same non-literal frequency.
Mannlicher an expensive German hunting rifle.
wireless British for “radio.”
