unlikely –
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at the crack of dawn – at break of day, very early in the morning
to fan out – to spread out in several directions (in fan-shape), a word usually applied to the movement of troops after a breakthrough
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seriema – a crested Brazilian and Argentinean
bird of the crane family, with gray and amber coloring and long legs and neck
coatimundi [,kouti'mundi]
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the point of no return – a poetical paraphrase for
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fifty-fifty – equal, even
marquee [ma:'ki:] – a big tent with open sides, especially one used for outdoor entertainments
professional –
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puma – a long-tailed, slender, tawny-brown animal of the cat family, found in North and South America (also called
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that bad
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trestle-table – a table made up of movable planks supported by a pair of trestles, special wooden frames consisting each of a horizontal beam with diverging legs
heel-taps –
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they had sung themselves from the heavens back to earth – they had passed the peak of their singing enthusiasm, which sounded like heaven to their listeners, and began to relax, as if coming hack to earth
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vampire – in folklore and popular superstition, an evil spirit which enters a corpse that leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons; hence vampire bats – several species of tropical American bats, which live on the blood of animals
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Luna's godfather – i.e. Luna himself, the man after whom the puma was named, as children are often named after their godparents
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charmed – seemingly protected from harm as though by magic
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collared peccary – a pig-like mammal of tropical America, about three feet long, greyish, with a white collar and sharp tusks
to have a soft spot for somebody – to have a weakness for somebody, to be unreasonably fond of somebody
an Eton collar – a broad, white linen collar, worn with a short black coat of a pupil of Eton college (an old public school for boys from privileged classes at Eton, near London)
retrousse [re'tru:sei]
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I allowed her the run of the place – she was allowed to run free all about the place
ambrosial – delicious, fragrant like ambrosia (the food of the Gods and immortals in Greek and Roman mythology)
out of this world- a current expression meaning 'heavenly', i. e. 'not belonging to the ordinary world'
gourmet – a person who is expert in the choice of food and wine
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to make sure of something – to act in such a way as to be certain of something (as here, to do everything to prevent the puma getting out of the cage)
Pegasus – in Greek mythology, a
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to press-gang – to force into service, from
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macabrely – in a macabre, i.e. horrible or ghastly way
gooey
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as I ducked and twisted my way – as I made my way twisting and ducking (by
ducking, that he had to jerk his head or the whole body downwards to avoid the blows of the branches)
toukan, or toucan – a brightly colored, fruit-eating bird of tropical America, distinguished by a large, down curved beak
fungi – any of a group of plants, including mildew, molds, mushrooms, rusts and toadstools that have no leaves or flowers, and reproduce by means of spores
Venetian glass – fine glassware made in or near Venice
The author means that the gloomy and sinister landscape would have been a suitable place for the meeting of the three witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's
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anti-coagulant – a substance that prevents coagulation of blood
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ticks – a large group of wingless insects that attach themselves to the skin of men or animals and suck their blood
birds of a feather flock together – a proverb which means that people with the same characteristics or tastes gather, assemble together
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to stalk – to get close (usually to game) cautiously and noiselessly, without being seen, heard, or winded; the figure of a stalking Red Indian is familiar from numerous American works of fiction (e. g. novels by James Fenimore Cooper)
tree-snake – a variety of grass-snake, a small non-poisonous snake, having a very beautiful coloring of yellow, green and black with metal gleam, and living in trees and brushes
dropping
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lovesick swain
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Here we find an interplay of the two meanings of the noun
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rabies ['reibi:z] – an infectious virus disease of the central nervous system in dogs and other flesh-eating animals; it can be transmitted to man by the bite of an infected animal and is characterized by choking convulsions, inability to swallow liquids, etc.; it is fatal if not treated immediately (also called
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a whole-time job – a job that takes up all your time
The author means that the sum amounted to a fantastically big figure, reminding one of what a light-year stands for (a distance of approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles that light travels, in one year). The Astronomer Royal – the Royal Astronomer Society in England.
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there was nothing for it – there was nothing to be done
pigeon-toed – with the toes turned inwards
by the hour – for hours on end
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scent gland – a special kind of gland of certain animals, as skunks, coatimundis and others, producing a substance with an offensive smell; it serves them for marking their territories and as a means of defence
having… hoisted the coatimundi equivalent of the flag – having marked his territory to show that it was occupied (this is what a hoisted, i.e. raised, flag usually shows)
within range – a military expression, where
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douroucoulis – genus of monkeys, the family of capuchin: a South American monkey with a whitish face and a hoodlike crown of black hair
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a stick of rock – i.e. of rock candy, hard sweetmeat made of sugar
nothing loath to leaving – quite willing to leave
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aviary ['eivjari] – a large cage for keeping many birds
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fly-blown – full of flies' eggs and larvae; hence dirty, contaminated
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cabinet – a case with drawers or shelves to hold
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unicorn – a fabulous animal resembling a horse with a single twisted horn, chiefly known from its heraldic representation (facing the lion) in the British royal arms; Piccadilly – a fashionable street in London, between Haymarket and Hyde Park Corner
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are not two a penny – are not too common, are not so easy to find. The expression comes from a street-pedlar cry, preserved in the following old nursery-rhyme:
Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny,
Hot-cross buns!
The words
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sleeper – any of the parallel crossbeams to which the rails of a railroad (the track) are fastened
the train crash of the century – the most sensational train crash of our age;
a Western film, often called simply a Western (the same as a Wild West film) – in U.S.A. cinematography, a motion picture about the adventures of cowboys or frontier men in the far West of the United States during its so-called "early period of lawlessness", i.e. the beginning of the 19th century