Finnegans Wake



next to nothing - hardly anything

Himalaya;     Himmel (d) - sky

toploftical - very superior in air or in attitude

burning bush - an of several plants (so called fr. the bush in exod 3:2 that was on fire but was not consumed).

abob - to astonish, confound;             atop - on the top of, above.

bauble - a child's plaything or toy, something foolish;        Babel - the city and tower, of which the attempted construction is described in Genesis xi, where the confusion of languages is said to have taken place.

larrom* - a tumultuous noise, a hubbub, uproar

tooler - a broad chisel used by stone-masons for random tooling

clitter - to make frictional or rattling sound

tomble = tumble - an act of tumbling, a fall, downfall.

clotter - to run together in clots, to coagulate

arms = heraldic arms -  heraldic insignia or devices, borne originally on the shields of fully armed knights or barons, to distinguish them in battle (hence properly called armorial bearings), which subsequently became hereditary, and are the property of their families.

wassail* - a carousal; riotous festivity, revelling

boose, laugh

reisen - obs. of raise

crest - a figure or device (originally borne by a knight on his helmet) placed on a wreath, coronet or chapeau and borne above the shield and helmet in a coat of arms; the apex or ''cone'' of a helmet; hence a helmet or head piece.

heraldry* - heraldic title or rank, a collection of heraldic devices.

vert - green

ancillary* - serving to aid of assist

troublance - the action of troubling, disturbance, sorrow, pain;    tremblant -  Of an ornament, jewel, etc.: incorporating springs or fine projecting wires which tremble or vibrate when affected by movement;        true blue - faithful, staunch and unwavering.

argent - the silver of a coat of arms; the silver or white colour in armorial bearings.

hegoat* - male goat;      heoak - an Australian tree

poursuivant - a follower, a junior heraldic officer attendant on the heralds.

horrid - terrible

horned - having, bearing, or wearing an appendage, ornament, etc., called a horn; having horn-like projections or excrescenses.

scutcheon* = escutcheon - the shield or shield-shaped surface on which a coat of arms is depicted; also in wider sense, the shield with the armorial bearings.

fesse - an ordinary formed by two horizontal lines drawn across the middle of the field, and usually containing between them one third of the escutcheon.

archer - one who shoots with bow and arrows, a bowman

strung - in a state of tension

helio - heliotrope; a shade of purple like that of the flowers of the heliotrope.

second - drugi, sekunda

hootch = hooch - alcoholic liquor esp. when inferior or obtained illicitly.

husbandman - one that plows or cultivates land, farmer

hoe - an agricultural and gardening tool, consisting of a thin iron blade fixed transversely at the end of a long handle.

Finn - the name used by the Teut. nations for an individual of a people in North-Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

sunday;     someday - at some time in future

fine - to purify from extraneous or impure matter, to clarify, refine.

agent* - a deputy, emissary, any natural force acting upon matter; one who acts for another.

bring about - to cause to take place, effect, accomplish

municipal - pertaining to the internal affairs of a state as distinguished from its foreign relations; pertaining to the local self-government or corporate government of a city or town.

cubby house* - a little house built by children in play; a very small and confined room.

earwitness - a person who can testify to something heard by himself.

shabby* - discreditably inferior in quality, making a poor appearance

chorus

unqualified;         calif - the title given in Muslim countries to the chief civil and religious ruler, as successor of Muhammad.

Muslim muezzins;      muezzin - in Muslim countries, a public crier who proclaims the regular hours of prayer from the minaret or the roof of a mosque.

blackguardize* - to reduce to the condition of a blackguard

whitestone - memorial of a fortunate event (among the ancients)

hurtle - to propel violently, catapult

turtle - to turn over

stay - to remain in order to wait, to prop, sustain

wherefore - on account of or because of which; in consequence or as a result of which.

righteousness* - justice, uprightness, rectitude

sustainer - one that sustains, a sufferer, one who provides another with the necessaries of life.

toothpick

lump - to sit down heavily

upon

featherbed* - a bed stuffed with feathers

nod is as good as a wink* - a sign is all that is necessary

nadir* - point directly opposite the zenith

otherways - otherwise

provost - the head or president of a chapter, or of a community of religious persons; Applied by Caxton to a Muslim muezzin; the chief magistrate of a town; an officer charged with the apprehension, custody, and punishment of offenders.

scoff - to speak derisively, mock, jeer

Bedouin - an Arab of the desert                                                                           between

between the devil and the deep sea* - between two comparable evils.

jebel - a hill in northern Africa, a hill or mountain

crop - to cut off or remove the 'crop' or head of (a plant ,tree,etc.)                        proverb

crunch - an act, or the action, of crunching; to crush or grind under foot, wheels, etc., with the accompanying noise.

bracken - a fern

decide - to cut off, separate (obs. rare.)

on site - on a particular site

occasionally

helper - one who helps or assists; spec. a groom's assistant in a stable.

dreamy - given to dreaming or fantasy; delightful, beautiful (colloq.)

heed - to have a care, pay attention, take notice

have

missfire - to make a mistake, to fail

mought - might

extend* - to widen the range, scope, area of application of (a law, operation, dominion, state of things, etc.)

sore - painful, grievous

abe - be                                                                                                                    Adam

ivy                                                                                                                             Eve's

apples

Walhalla* = Valhalla - In Old Northern mythology, the hall assigned to those who have died in battle, in which they feast with Odin.

Rolls-Royce* -  a Rolls-Royce motor car, any product considered to be of the highest quality.

hack - hackney

megapod

wardmote* - a meeting of the citizens of a ward; esp. in the City of London, a meeting of the liverymen of a ward under the presidency of the alderman;    moat - trench.

basilica*- an early christian church

pagoda* - an far eastern temple

peeler - a nickname given to members of the Irish constabulary; a strip-tease artist, a stripper.

Mecklenburg* - region in northern Germany

Marlborough* - provincial district in New Zealand;     merlin - a European species of falcon.

burrock - an aparatus made of wickerwork for catching fish

pore - to gaze, study or think long or earnestly;       forecourt - the court or enclosed space in front of a building, the first or outer court.

bore - a hole made by boring, a perforation; an aperture (irrespective of shape), a chink, crevice, or cranny; a fit of ennui or sulks, a dull time.

the more = the rather, the more so (because, etc.)