Finnegans Wake




byway - a secondary or little known aspect or field

improvidence - unforeseeing

lifework - the entire or principal work of one's lifetime;                                              worth

cell - a small apartment, room, or dwelling.

cit - townsman, an inhabitant of a city                                                                            sit

wimman - woman;     old woman's story - a foolish story.

run away with - to carry off (something)

min - mind, memory, intention                                                                                      man

smooth - using specious or attractive language; plausible, bland, insinuating, flattering, (usually with implication of insincerity or selfish designs).

behind (one's) back - after one has left (a company), in one's absence.

butteler - butler (a servant who has charge of the wine-cellar and dispenses the liquor).

ye - you

tin - money, cash

mercenary - working merely for the sake of monetary or other reward, actuated by considerations of self-interest.

the fat of the land* - the richest or most nourishing part of the land, the choicest produce (of  the earth).

liquidation - the action or process of ascertaining and apportioning the amounts of a debt, the clearing off or settling (of a debt).

flood

nare - were not; never

eyebrow

eyelash

place;        face

Schuft (d) - rogue

welter - the rolling, tossing, or tumbling (of the sea or waves).

loan - to grant the loan of, to lend.

vesta - a kind of wax match

hire - to procure the temporary use of (any thing) for stipulated payment.

sarch - search

to warm the cockles of one's heart* - to rejoice, delight;     cockle - a kind of stove for heating apartments.

turfman* - a devotee of horse racings, one who study fine grasses, their care and uses;    turf - a slab or block of peat dug for use as fuel.

piff - an imitation of various sounds = piff paff.

puff -  to blow short blasts (with mouth or bellows) upon (a fire) to make it  burn up (obs.)

poff - puff (obs.)

humpty - hunch backed                                                                            Humpty Dumpty

frump* - a mocking speech or action; a flout, jeer. Obs.                                        plenty

awkward - lacking dexterity or skill in performing their part; clumsy in action, bungling.

remonstrancer - one who makes reproof, complaint (to some authority), raise an objection, urges strong reasons against a course of action.

eggs

brekker - breakfast (slang)

sunny side up - egg fried on one side only

turnover - the action of turning over, in various senses (to agitate or revolve in the mind, go through and examine mentally); english penny.

tay - tea

hind - a servant, a married and skilled farm workman; situated behind.

hin - him

behaviourism - a theory and method of psychological investigation based on the study of behaviour                               favourite

bandy - a game, also called bandy-ball, in which a small ball is driven to and fro over the ground, with bent club sticks, by two sides of players.

frute - frog, toad

firstling - the first of its kind to be produced, come into being, or appear, the first product or result of anything.

tithe - the tenth part of the annual produce of agriculture, etc., being a due or payment (orig. in kind) for the support of the priesthood, religious establishments, etc.

review - the act of looking over something (again), with a view to correction or improvement.

at six and seven* - in disorder, confused

hills

colline - a small hill

sitting around

breech* - to cover or clothe with, or as with, breeches.

swish - a hissing sound

satin - a woman's satin dress

taffeta* - a crisp plainwoven fabric

tights - a tight fitting breeches

strake - strike; a strip of land, a beam of light.

by order - without delay, immediately

Berg (d) - hill

gambol - to leap or spring, in dancing or sporting

to scrape along - to manage or 'get along' with difficulty

to squeeze out* - to reduce to, or bring into, a specified condition by pressure, to drain or exhaust in this way.

salve - to heal, remedy, mend, make good, make up, smooth over.

rabulous* - using such language as only the licence of a buffoon can warrant; characterized by coarseness or indecency of language, esp. in jesting and invective; coarsely opprobrious or jocular.

kipper - a name given to the male salmon (or sea trout) during the spawning season.

griddle = gridiron (obs.) -  a cooking utensil formed of parallel bars of iron or other metal in a frame, usually supported on short legs, and used for broiling flesh or fish over a fire.

dormant* - sleeping, lying asleep or as asleep

behove - to have use for or need to, to require