Chambers, Jessie. D. H. Lawrence: A Personal Record. 1935. Reprint: New York: Barnes and Noble, 1965. A memoir about Lawrence’s early years, covering his relationship with his mother, his first three novels, and his friendship with the author.
Hoffman, Frederick J., and Harry T. Moore. The Achievement of D. H. Lawrence. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1953. A collection of responses to D. H. Lawrence written by his contemporaries ; both entertaining and informative.
a Stuart king of England, 1660-1685.
b Stocking weavers.
c Rudimentary bathrooms in which ashes were used to cover excrement.
d Without (dialect).
e Stubble field for cattle.
f Allowance; in this case, free drinks in exchange for working at the bar.
g Drunk.
h Nothing but.
i Aren’t you.
j Covered with ashes or small coals to keep it slowly burning through the night.
k Established family in the shire.
l Frolicking or leaping about.
m English country dance.
n Mocking me, undermining my jokes.
o Moles.
p Must.
q Yourself.
r Vow to stop drinking alcohol.
s Spiritless coward or weakling.
t Boss.
u Coal wall on which a team of miners worked.
v Chunk of hard clay.
w Shuffle.
x Tub for collecting rainwater.
y Game like bowling.
z Popular, sentimental song of the day.
aa Burner on the stove.
ab To waste (dialect).
ac Lunch bag.
ad Person who distributed unfinished stockings to female workers to stitch the back seam at home for extra money.
ae Bowlful; a reference to copper bowls used for laundry.
af Small, horse-drawn cart.
ag Go quickly.
ah Reheat and chop leftover meat for a meal.
ai A colloquialism tacked on to the end of phrases or sentences; it has no literal meaning.
aj Signal to stop work.
ak Lift used to transport coal and coal miners between the pit and the surface.
al A minister’s house.
am Congested, clogged.
an Anything.
ao Puddled.
ap Fools.
aq Shock, blow.
ar Pains.
as Local aid societies.
at Spoiled.
au Game like horseshoes played by tossing a ring on or close to a pin.
av Children’s rhyme.
aw Desk job.
ax Country dances.
ay Scottish, from the Highlands of Britain.
az Mother (Latin, but common in British usage).
ba “Apostle”; here used to refer to Paul as the Apostle Paul.
bb Flighty person.
bc Game like hide-and-seek.
bd Impudence.
be Ruffian.
bf Snag.
bg Anvil shaped like a goose’s neck.
bh Untrustworthy.
bi Sneaks.
bj Gentle.
bk Tobacco.
bl Infested.
bm Dish made by boiling wheat in milk and seasoning with cinnamon and sugar.
bn Thicket or small grove that is periodically cut back.
bo Beat, as in “you beat me here.”
bp Condescendingly (French).
bq Simpleton.
br Hat ornamentation made of fur or foxtail.
bs Box.
bt Colloquialism tacked on to the end of sentences and phrases; it has no literal meaning.
bu Tough.
bv Baking.
bw Game in which children sing around a circle.
bx Outer slip like an apron.
by Children’s song that accompanies a ring game.
bz Eager.
ca Thrown.
cb Pantry.
cc Stones.
cd Gangrene.
ce Living by money received from the local aid societies, or clubs.
cf Fashionable suit worn with a loose-fitting jacket and waist belt.
cg The former is an art shop, the latter a drug store selling herbal remedies.
ch Watercolor brush made from the soft fur of the sable.
ci The equivalent, in today’s terms, of “Get out of town!”
cj Popular narcotic and painkiller made from morphia, chloroform, Indian hemp, and prussic acid.
ck Suspicious.
cl “I’ll be darned.”
cm Variety of domestic fowl, the cocks of which are known to be feisty fighters.
cn Popular song about a supposed infidelity.
co Humorous pronunciation of au revoir, “goodbye” (French).
cp In quiet voices; from sotto, “under,” and voce, “voice” (Latin).
cq Little robin.
cr Surprised.
cs Fashionable person.
ct Person with no practical ability.
cu Whistle.
cv Very fine silk.
cw Candied chestnuts (French).
cx Father.
cy Field left uncultivated for a year or more to help replenish the soil for future farming.
cz “The last of a dying breed” (French).
da Overburdened.
db To embrace amorously; the word has a sexual connotation.
dc Beaten to the punch by someone who got there first (Nottinghamshire dialect).
dd Nothing but.
de Old.
df Popular song written in 1906 by Arthur J. Mills and Bennett Scott.
dg Game played with cards.
dh Working a desk job; literally, sitting on a chair.
di British army uniform.
dj Himself.
dk Annual art show that received national attention.
dl Half-worth of a weakling.
dm More commonly spelled Michelangelo; Italian sculptor, architect, and painter in Renaissance Italy (1475-1564). D. H. Lawrence later describes Paul’s artistic style as having “a certain luminous quality, like some of Michael Angelo’s people. ...” (see page 329).
dn Delicate, sensitive to cold.
do Bundle of sticks.
dp Crunch.
dq Whiner.
dr “It’s the truth.”
ds Cold.
dt Extra pair of pants for leisure.
du Get dressed quickly.
dv Quibbled.
dw Irregular worker hired by the day.
dx Special price for coal bought by miners at the mouth of the pit.
dy Guzzle.
dz Worry.
ea Door curtain.
eb “If you don’t do it, you don’t dare”—that is, “you’re chicken.”
ec Likely.
ed Smack.
ee English system of sight singing.
ef Spiny evergreen shrub with yellow flowers.
eg Popular song, based on a poem by Robert Burns (1759-1796).
eh Knight’s tent.
ei Women’s Social and Political Union, a radical feminist organization.
ej In a row.
ek Has driven.
el Reedlike grass.
em Series of rods, originally made from bone, intended to cinch a woman’s body into shape.
en Children’s rhyme in reference to the Burial Service in the Book of Common Prayer.
eo With its head raised.
ep Haughty.
eq Pour.
er British slang for the pound sterling.
es Proverb.
et Queen of England (1837-1901).
eu Sown his wild oats.
ev British slang for cigarette; from faggot, bundle of sticks.
ew Troublesome.
ex Poor thing.
ey Brewed.
ez By God.
fa Irritated.
fb Popular notion that being discontented was really a desi
re for higher things.
fc Enlarged and printed in carbon.
fd Spinning wheel.
fe Coolness of composure (French).
ff Eager.
fg Tired.
fh Type of willow.
fi Personification of the spirit of Great Britain; usually depicted as a statuesque female.
fj Misunderstood woman (French).
fk Path between hedges or walls.
fl Refuse from melting ore for metal.
fm Shuffled.
fn Belief that the truth of God cannot be understood through purely rational or scientific inquiry. † Nonsense.
fo Crunchy, crisp.
fp Game played with cards and a board fit with pins.
fq God.
fr Angry.
fs Dinner jacket, as opposed to an evening jacket.
ft Dressed for mischief.
fu “Fast” woman.
fv “It” refers to sex.
fw God bless me.
fx One who would carry a dagger.
fy Literally, “Look for the women” (French); here the implication is “the woman is the root of the problem.”
fz Reedlike grass, usually spelled marram.
ga Leaf of a fernlike plant.
gb Cad, rogue.
gc Burn.
gd Also morphine; the most important narcotic in opium and a common painkiller.
ge Powdered-food formula that could be mixed with water and drunk for sustenance.
gf Literally, “white night” (French); a sleepless night.
Sons and Lovers Page 56