poules—(French) literally, hen; slang for prostitute.
Pernod—a particular brand of anise, a French or Spanish liqueur flavored with aniseed.
Dites garçon, un pernod—(French) Tell the waiter, a pernod.
absinthe—a green, bitter, toxic liqueur made with wormwood oil and anise, now illegal in most countries.
fiacre—(French) hackney-coach, cab.
Avenue de l’Opéra—a boulevard running southwest from the Place de l’Opera to the Palais Royal, on the right bank of the Seine in Paris.
New York Herald a now-defunct daily newspaper.
Rue des Pyramides—a street connecting the Avenue de l’Opera with the Rue de Rivoli.
Rue de Rivoli—a boulevard that parallels the Seine, on Paris’s right bank.
Tuileries—the Jardin des Tuileries, public gardens on the right bank of the Seine.
Seine—a river in northern France, flowing northwest through France into the English Channel.
Rue des Saints Pères—a street on the Left Bank, perpendicular to the Boulevard St. Germain.
Flemish—of Flanders or its people, language, or culture.
Flamand—(French) Flemish.
cocher—(French) coachman, driver.
Foyot’s—a Parisian restaurant.
Liège—a province of eastern Belgium, or its capital, on the Meuse River.
Brussels—the capital of Belgium, in the central part.
Connais pas—(French) I don’t know.
bal musette—(French) bagpipe dance
Rue de la Montagne Sainte Geneviève—a street in the Latin Quarter.
Pantheon quarter—the Left Bank district surrounding the Pantheon, a “Temple of Fame” where Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and others are buried.
white hands, wavy hair, white faces, grimacing, gesturing, talking—a homosexual stereotype.
cognac—a French brandy distilled from wine in the area of Cognac, France.
fine à l’eau—(French) brandy and water.
tight—(Slang) drunk.
his compatriot—Moses, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. A reference to Cohn’s Jewishness.
her hair was brushed back like a boy’s. She started all that.—Jake seems to be claiming that Brett initiated the 1920s fashion for short, or “bobbed,” hair on women.
Montmartre—a district of Paris, in the northern part; noted for its cafés and as an artists’ quarter.
patronne—(French) proprietress.
C’est entendu, Monsieur—(French) It is understood, sir.
