135
Martyr (272? — 205) during the reign of Roman emperor Diocletian; in Naples, a phial thought to contain his dried blood is said to liquefy each year.
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136
The writings of Russian biologist Ilya Metchnikoff ( 1845-I 9 16) include Immunity in Infectious Diseases (1905) and The Nature of Man (1903).
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137
London public-health board established in I867 that operated, among other things, specialist hospitals for infectious diseases and tuberculosis.
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138
Medicinal syrup derived from the squill plant, a bulbous herb.
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139
hus Feste gloats over Malvolio’s humiliation in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (act 5,cene I ) .
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140
Hypothetical substance thought to be released through burning, a theory disproved by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier (1743- 1794).
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141
In Moliere’s play The Imaginary Invalid (1673) a doctor who disdains such new fangled theories as circulation of the blood.
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142
Sixteenth-century German alchemist and physician.
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143
Tall mirror that covers the wall space between two windows.
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144
Transversely corded fabric.
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145
Chandelier with gas burners.
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146
Having a projecting breastbone.
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147
Abbreviated version of the Latin phrase infra dignitatem, which means “beneath one’s dignity.”
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148
Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
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149
Term for winning a backgammon game before the opponent removes any pieces from the board, thereby earning double points.
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150
Nut-shaped mass of tissue.
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151
Poisonous bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
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152
Appearing moral, but being immoral (see the Bible, Matthew 23:27, KJV).
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153
Specialist.
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154
Quotation from Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Criticism,” this time accurate (see footnote to page 196).
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155
B.B.’s memory of the laws of Medes and Persians from the Bible (see Daniel 6:8-15) fails, so he improvises.
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156
Informal marriage certificate.
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157
Life-size dummy with movable limbs.
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158
Lamp that burns volatile liquid fuel such as alcohol, sometimes in conjunction with a container, for heating substances.
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159
Heavy brownish silk fabric.
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160
Meaning “pay up”; a term derived from a mining practice of payment by gold dust.
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161
Maid in charge of the room where liqueurs and cakes are stored.
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162
Does not represent any particular religion.
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163
Indignation; resentment.
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164
Scottish novelist and dramatist J.M. Barrie, best known for his character Peter Pan, was a friend of Shaw; Better Dead (1887) is his first novel.
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165
Proverbial saying that derives from English author Francis Bacon’s essay “On Boldness” (from Essays, 1625).
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166
No license is required to practice journalism.
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167
Street in London where professional photographers had their shops.
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168
Quotation from the Bible, Psalm 73:4-5 (KJV).
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169
Of the dead [say] nothing but good (Latin).
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170
Expensive shopping area in London.
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171
Quotation from “The Latest Decalogue,” by English poet Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861).
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172
English philologist and mathematician (1814-1890); an advocate of spelling reform.
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173
Italian singer (1817 — 1895) who taught French in England and advocated a phonetic alphabet.
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174
Institute founded in 1887 to conduct research into resources and raw materials of the British Empire, and to make the growing Empire understandable to the British people.
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175
Reference to A Manual of Current Shorthand (1892).
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176
Named after its inventor, Sir Isaac Pitman (1813-1897).
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177
Amalthaea, the Sibyl of Cumae, was a legendary prophetess of ancient Rome who destroyed six of nine prophetic books when the Roman king refused to pay for them.
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178
Robert Bridges, poet laureate of England (1913-1930) and author of Milton’s Prosody (1893), practiced spelling reform.
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179
The valet who passes as a nobleman in Victor Hugo’s 1838 verse drama of the same name.
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180
That is, “Two bunches of violets trod in the mud.”
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181
Shaw later revised this phrase to “a romantic figure.”
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182
Sixpence coin (slang).
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183
Having turned them up due to the rain.
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184
Detective.
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185
That is, with soliciting for prostitution.
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186
Police informant.
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187
Slang expression equivalent to “damn me”; probably from “blind me.”
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188
Hanwell County Asylum for the insane.
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189
That is, worried and chased.
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190
Working-class district of London; a slum area in the mid to late 1800s.
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191
Peevish, or ill-natured.
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192
Relating to the Pharisees, a sect often portrayed in the Bible as hypocritical.
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193
Lamp chimneys are glass tubes around the wick of an oil lamp that keep the flame steady; flames in the tube that resonate to the human voice are called “singing flames.”
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194
Used in the earliest phonographs as a medium for recording and replaying sound.
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195
Portraits engraved on copper or steel; Higgins prefers their austerity to voluptuous color.
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196
System of phonetic notation devised by English phonetician Henry Sweet (1845-1912).
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197
Astonished; this Latinate word suits Higgins, who is a Milton aficionado (see note 7 for this play).
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198
Pejorative word for a woman, ranging in meaning from a pert (saucy, or forward) woman to a prostitute.
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199
Woman who wears a skirt that is dirty from being dragged over wet ground and who searches the street for usable things.
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200
Strong scouring soap with a wrapper bearing the image of a monkey looking into a mirror.
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201
London department store.
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202
Off his head; crazy.
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203
Crazy people.
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204
Garbage man (sanitation worker).
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205
Old-fashioned term for an immoral scoundrel.
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206
Quotation from Milton’s “Il Penseroso”: “Sweet Bird that shunn‘st the noise of folly, / Most musicall, most melancholy!” (lines 61-62).
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207
Manual laborer; ditch-digger.
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208
Artists’ quarter in London.
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209
English landscape painter (1851-1882), whose best-known work, “The Minister’s Garden,” was exhibited in 1878 at the Grosvenor Gallery in London.
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210
After the English poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), who painted medieval religious and fantasy subjects.
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211
Particular day reserved for casual visits from acquaintances.
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212
That is, “How do you do?”
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213
Area of low pressure.
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214
Objectionable males.
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215
Offensively dirty and badly behaved.
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216
Crew’s quarters in a ship’s bow.
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217
Loose-fitting jacket for wear when relaxing at home.
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218
Love letter with a crest embossed on it; Pickering is speaking ironically.
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219
Higgins is repeating a well-known saying by English theologian and logician Richard Whately (1787-1863).
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220
Allusion to Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, in which Dr. Frankenstein refers to the monster he creates as the “creature.”
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221
Fireplace.
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222
Jargon; insincere speech.
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223
Resentment; indignation.
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224
Slang for “ran away.”
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225
Fellow; rascal.
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226
Parody of “Rockefeller”; John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist.
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227
That is, get money out of me.
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228
Church where wealthy people married.
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229
Horse-drawn closed carriage with the driver outside in front.
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230
Higgins is explicitly identifying himself with Milton (see note 7 for this play).
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Pygmalion and Three Other Plays Page 66