CAST OF CHARACTERS 10 страница

at the first shot: at the first attempt.

сер: vulgar form of ‘except’.

be off with you to...: = go to …; a rather rude way of expressing the idea.

Act Three

at-home day: a day on which a host or hostess receive visitors within certain hours.

Chelsea Embankment: Chelsea is a pleasant residential district along the north bank of the Thames, south of Hyde Park.

Morris and Burne Jones: William Morris [ˊwiljəm ˊmɔris]: (1834—96) English poet, artist and Socialist. Morris was regarded as one of the founders of the Socialist movement in Great Britain.

Morris and some of his friends began a movement to encourage the manufacture of artistic furniture and household decorations, as a protest against the poor taste developed by the mass production of such objects.

Edward Burne Jones [ˊbɜ:n ˊdƷəunz]: English painter, a follower of Rossetti (see below).

William Morris and Edward Burne Jones were also members of a decorating firm which made fine carvings, stained glass, metalwork, wallpapers, chintzes, tiles, and carpets.

ottoman: a low cushioned seat without back or arms.

odds and ends: miscellaneous objects.

Cecil Lawson... Rubens: Cecil Lawson [lɔ:sn] (1851 — 1882), English landscape painter.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577—1640), a Flemish painter known for his large canvases.

Rossettian [rE’setiEn]: in the style of, or characteristic of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828—1882), the English painter and poet, one of the leaders of the so-called Pre-Rafaelite movement in art, which was based on the supposed artistic principles of the late Middle Ages, turning away from industrialized Britain to look for the beauty of the past. His pictures had bright colours, graceful lines and shapes. His work often pictures women in flowing robes.

a Chippendale chair: Thomas Chippendale [ˊtʃipəndeil] (1718—79): a designer of furniture. His name became a trademark of a furniture style known for its graceful lines and fine decorations.

Elizabethian [iˏlizəˊbi:Ɵn]: belonging to the time of Queen Elizabeth (1533-1603).

small talk: light, trivial society conversation.

picked up: nowadays this expression means “to make a casual acquaintance”, often in a negative sense.

like a house on fire: vigorously; quickly; as fast as a house that is on fire would burn.

parlormaid [ˊpa:ləmeid]: a female servant who serves guests in the parlour. This spelling is more typical of American English. In Great Britain the usual spelling is ‘parlour-maid’.

straitened means: having little money.

very much at home: to feel at ease; to have a thorough knowledge of a subject.

I havnt the ghost of notion: I haven't the slightest idea. 'Ghost' is used in the sense of ‘shadow’, ‘slight trace’.

has no manners: doesn't know how to behave in public. The plural form of the noun 'manner' has, the meaning of ‘rules of social conduct’.

Battersea Park [ˊbætəsi: ˊpa:k]: a park on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Chelsea.

past endurance [ˊpa:st in'djuərəns]: unable to stand any more, losing all patience.

ahededo a casual pronunciation of ‘how do you do’

it dont matter...: a colloquial form of ‘it doesn't matter’.

Royal Society's soirees: the Royal Society, the most important scientific body in Great Britain, was founded in 1660. The abbreviation F.R.S. after a surname indicates membership of the Society (‘Fellow of the Royal Society’). A ‘soiree’ [ˊswa:rei] (French) is an evening party, often including an artistic performance of music, poetry etc..

you are rather trying: = you are annoying.

eligible matrimonially [ˊelidƷibl ˏmætriˊməuniəli]: = suitable as a prospective husband.

Lord forbid!: Боже упаси!

break up the whole show: to spoil everything.

the dickens: the deuce, the devil: used as an interjection.

gasps slightly: it has already been mentioned that the ‘dropping of aitches’, is characteristic of cockney pronunciation. (See Act I).

It all comes back to me: I remember it all.

fender, fire-irons: a 'fender' is a low metal wall before a fireplace to stop coals from falling; fire-irons' are tools for fireplace, such as poker, tongs [tʌŋz], shovel [ˊʃʌvəl].

imprecation [ˏimprəˊkeiʃn]: a spoken curse.

these islands: the British Isles.

killing: old slang for ‘very funny’, ‘fascinating’. Now it means ‘extremely tiring’.

I'm sure I hope...: I'm sure is used colloquially in this way for emphasis, much in the same way as ‘do’ = I do hope.

they done the old woman in: 'to do in' is slang for ‘to kill’. Eliza has come to the limits of her high-class talk and has fallen into her cockney speech habits.

Y-e-e-es, Lord love you: an over-lenghtened [e] is another feature of cockney. ‘Lord love you’ is an old-fashioned colloquial exclamation expressing surprise at another person's mistake or ignorance.

she come through diphtheria [dif'Ɵiəriə] right enough: 'to come through' = to recover from.

But my father he kept... the use of two subjects is characteristic of colloquial and not quite grammatically correct speech.

she came to: ‘ to come to’ = to recover one's senses, as from a faint or swoon.

what become: it has already been mentioned that in cockney the present indefinite is frequently used instead of the past, the -s being dropped in the third person singular.

pinched: informal for ‘to steal’.

Them as pinched it...: those who pinched it

on the burst [bɜ:st]: old slang for ‘a drinking bout or spree’. Therefore 'to be on the burst' = to be drunk.

booze [bu:z]: slang for ‘alcoholic drink’.

If I was doing it proper, what was you...: it has already been mentioned that cockney speech uses the adjective with the verb instead of the correct adverb, and also ‘was’ instead of ‘were’.

taking the hint: acting on the hint

the Park: to the Londoner ‘the Park’ can mean only Hyde Park. Wimpole St. where Higgins lives can be reached from Chelsea Embankment by crossing Hyde Park.

quaint [kweint]: attractive and unusual, nowadays this word means ‘attractive and unusual in an old-fashioned way’.

pitch it in strong: the colloquial expression to pitch in means ‘to start to work eagerly’.

Victorian prudery the behaviour and moral standards of middle-class society in the time of Queen Victoria (1819 -1901), who were or pretended to be very respectable, religious, pure, etc.

bring myself: persuade myself, make myself.

down on me: informal for ‘having and expressing low opinion of.

reeking with...: the verb 'to reek' means literally ‘to smell unpleasantly’. Figuratively it means ‘to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive’.

perfectly cracked about her: 'cracked' is informal for ‘slightly mad’, ‘foolish’.

sanguinary [ˊsæŋgwinəri]: used euphemistically for ‘bloody’.

a canal barge [kəˊnæl ˊba:dƷ]: the crews of barges that swim the canals in Britain are supposed to be experts in the use of foul language. Compare the expression to swear like a bargee, (a man working on a barge) with the Russian "ругаться как извозчик".

dash me: the verb 'to dash 'is used in informal speech as a mild oath.

so much taken off her hands: she is relieved of some duties or responsibilities.

bee in the bonnet: a fixed idea.

confounded: an adjective used in strong language to enhance the force of the noun.

make no mistake about that: an expression used to emphasise the sense of a preceding statement.

quickness of ear: also a quick ear for music,etc.; acute perception of the differences of musical tone and pitch.

get hold of [ˊget ˊhəuld əv]: grasp; understand.

right off: at once, immediately.

like a shot: immediately, quickly, without delay.

right away: immediately.

Lehar... Lionel Monckton: Lehar [li'ha:] (1870—1948) and Lionel Monkton [ˊlainəl mʌŋktən] (1867 — 1934) popular composers of light music.

get a word in edgeways [ˊedƷweiz]: mostly used in the negative: not to get a word in edgeways = ни слова не вставить.

dating: showing clearly the age of.

there is no good: = there is no use.

opening: here ‘opportunity’.

Earl's Court: here short for ‘Earl's Court Exhibition’, a large building in Hammersmith, where various exhibitions are held.

ripping: old slang for ‘fine’, ‘splendid’, ‘first-rate’.

stationery case [ˊsteiʃnəri keis]: a case for writing materials.

opera cloak: a kind of cloak worn by ladies at operas, evening parties or official receptions.

Pandour [ˊpænduə]: member of a force of soldiers serving in the Austrian army in the middle of the 18th century.

maestro [maˊestrəu]: (plural as in Italian ‘maestri’): a master, especially in music; a great composer, conductor or teacher.

kisses him on both cheeks: this detail is meant to show that the gentleman is a foreigner, since in Britain it is not customary for one man to greet another by embracing or kissing him. This is taken to be a “Continental” custom.

phonetic: an error; the right form is ‘phonetics’ like ‘dialectics’, ‘gymnastics’, ‘linguistics’, etc..

nobody notice me, etc.: the use of the plural verb is a mistake.

swells: old fashioned informal word for important or fashionable persons.

I am interpreter: the speaker habitually omits the articles.

Clerkenwell [ˊkla:kənwel]: part of the City, largely inhabited by watchmakers, goldsmiths and opticians. Among the famous people residents of Clerkenwell was Thackeray, who went to school there.

villainously [ˊvilənəsli]: here means ‘abominably bad’, although this word is rarely, if ever, used in this sense.

pay through the nose: to have to pay high price, to be overcharged.

piggery: here, a dirty place.

fearful bore for you this sort of thing: a 'bore' — a nuisance; a tiresome person. The sentence used by Higgins is an instance of a kind of inversion to be met in colloquial speech, with the link verb omitted. The normal word order would be: ‘this sort of thing is a fearful bore for you’.

Excellency a title for addressing or speaking about certain people of high rank in the state, for example an ambassador, or the church. Always used with Your, his or her – Your Excellency.

suite of salons [ˊswi:t əv ˊsæloŋz]: ‘a suite’ is a ‘set of connected rooms’. A 'salon' is a reception in a great house, especially on the Continent, and particularly in France.

in full swing: in very active stage.

debutante [ˊdebju:ta:nt]: an upper-class girl who attends parties, dances and other social events as a way of being formally introduced to upper-class society.

Mrs Langtry: (1853 — 1929) an English actress who was considered to be very beautiful.

Magyar [ˊ mædja: ]: a Hungarian.

that air of divine right: the majestic appearance that should go with royal power supposed to be “derived from God”.

morganatic [ˊmɔ:gəˊnætik]: born of a morganatic marriage, i.e. marriage in which a man of high rank takes as wife a woman of lower station, with the stipulation that neither she nor children of the marriage will have any claim to his rank or property.

to keep an eye on somebody: to keep somebody under observation, to keep watch on somebody.

clear out: informal for ‘go away’.

finery: ornament, especially showy dress.

smoking jacket [ˊsməukiŋ ˊdƷækit]: a man's jacket, often of silk, worn at home. Not to be confused with ‘смокинг’ which is ‘a dinner jacket’ in English.

air: same as ‘melody’ or ‘tune’; cf. with the Italian ‘aria’.

La Franciulla del Golden West: The Girl of Golden West an opera by Giacomo Puccini (1878—1924); the 'Golden West'is the romantic name used for the area west of the Mississippi.

circular: a printed advertisement or notice given or sent to a large number of people.

coroneted billet-doux [kɔrənitid bilei'du:]: a 'coronet' is a small crown denoting rank below that of the sovereign. A billet-doux is the French for a love-letter and is usually used in a jocular sense. A coroneted billet is therefore a love-letter from a person of high rank, but Higgins' response seems to indicate that the writer is an upstart.

down-at-heel slippers: much worn slippers, with the heels crushed down.

what a crew!: used here in the sense of ‘crowd’, ‘set’.

of their own accord [əˊkɔ:d]: of their own free will.

too much of a good thing: cf. with the Russian “хорошего понемножку”.

did the trick: to do the trick is informal for ‘to accomplish one's purpose’, often with the connotation of some difficulty having to be overcome.

something to spare: with a handsome reserve, with ease, with little difficulty.

putting the job through: colloquial for ‘performing the task’, ‘getting the work done’.

backed myself, etc.: the reference is to the bet Higgins made with Pickering in Act II. 'To back' is to bet money on something or somebody.

win hands down: to win easily. It originates from horse-racing, meaning literally ‘to win without using the reins’.

purgatory [ˊpɜ:gətəri] чистилище — often used to denote a place, time or state of great suffering.

broken in: 'to break in' is to train a horse by getting it accustomed to bit, reins and saddle ("объезжать"). Also is used figuratively in the sense of ‘to discipline’, ‘to tame’.

over and done with ‘finished’, ‘completed’; also used without ‘over’.

turn in: colloquial for ‘to go to bed’.

crisps her fingers: clenches and unclenches her fists.

would you?: Вот вы как?

claws in: a kind of abbreviated command very common in English, consisting of the object of an imperative verb with the adverb that goes with that verb.

sleep it off: one can get rid of some uncomfortable state or feeling by ‘sleeping it off’, as, to sleep off a headache, etc.

and you're not bad-looking: a typical instance of understatement very common in English. An idea is expressed by the negative of its opposite.

people in the marrying line: = the marrying sort.

tosh [tɔʃ]: slang no longer used for ‘foolish talk’, ‘rubbish’.

cant [kænt]: whining or singsong speech, as of beggars.

togs [tɔgz]: informal for ‘clothes’.

will make a big hole in two hundred pounds: to make a hole = to use a large amount of. The expression therefore means: ‘will require almost £200’.

millennium: with the definite article it can mean a future age when all people will be happy and satisfied, a golden age.

shied them at me: 'shy' [ʃai] is a colloquial verb meaning to ‘throw’ or ‘fling’.

in my station: = in my position in life; in my status.

dudgeon [ˊdʌdƷən] in high/extreme dudgeon — angry and hurt because of bad treatment.

ram down: — to drive down/ in/ into by heavy blows.

a little of my own back: to get one's own back is informal for ‘to have revenge’.

decorum [diˊkɔ:rəm]: propriety of speech, appearance, or conduct.

padded hanger [ˊpædid ˊhæŋə]: a ‘hanger’ is a device on which clothes are hung in wardrobes. The ends of this particular type of hangers are ‘padded’ with small cushions to avoid tearing the clothes.

vanity bag дамская сумочка. Now handbag in British English and purse in American English are used.

lovelorn [ˊlʌvlɔ:n]: sad, because one's love is not returned.

scandalized [ˊskændlaizd]: shocked.

now then! [ˊnau ðen]: an expression of mild reproof.

vanity of human hopes: the reference is to the second verse of Ecclesiastes: ‘Vanity of vanities... all is vanity’. In the present sense the word means ‘futility’, ‘unreality’, ‘emptiness’.

Cavendish Square [ˊ kævədiʃ ˏskweə]: south of Harley Street and north-west of Hyde Park.

he didn't half…: note that Liza has somewhat relapsed into her former style of speech: He didn't half give me a fright is highly colloquial: so are 'copper' for ‘policeman’ and 'proper' instead of ‘properly’.

Hanover Square [ˊhænəvə ˊskweə]: another fashionable residential square in the vicinity of Piccadilly Circus.

righto [ˊraitˊəu]: = right oh! informal for ‘right’, ‘yes’.

Wimbledon Common [wimb(ə)lden ˊkɔmən]: a place in London where All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is situated and famous tennis competition is held every year. It is about 7 miles south-west of the place where Freddy and Elisa now stand.

Act Five

in a state: colloquial for ‘worried, nervous, hysterical’.

til: the author's spelling of ‘till’.

bolted: зд. сбежала

do without: get along without.

very particular: vulgar for ‘very particularly’ = very much.

A Mr Doolittle: note the use of the indefinite article before a name. Некий мистер Дулитл.

taken aback: shocked.

that full: ‘that’ instead of ‘so’ is wrong.

blighter [ˊblaitə]: old fashioned slang for ‘annoying fellow’.

done for: ruined, destroyed.

to the best of your (my, etc.) knowledg e: as far as you know.

put the lid on me: informal for ‘was too much for me’, ‘finished me’.

reconize: vulgar for ‘recognise’.

whew [hju:]: an interjection expressing tiredness, shock or relief.

lark: informal and rather old fashioned expression meaning something done for

amusement or as a joke; what a lark! = how amusing.

blue in the face: до посинения.

not to turn a hair: to show no signs of nervousness or embarrassment.

pretty nigh [ˊpriti nail]: almost.

tied neck and heels: used here in the meaning of ‘limited with responsibilities’.

to get (somebody) off: to get acquitted.

get shut of: vulgar for ‘get rid of’.

shove out [ʃʌv]: informal for ‘move out from’.

do a hand's turn: make the slightest effort.

that's where youll come in: this is where you find your place; this is where your interests are advanced.

I havnt the nerve: I haven't got the courage.

put by a bit отложил бы немного на черный день.

acause: vulgar for ‘because’.

this here blasted: the use of 'here' ('there') with 'this' is a vulgarism. 'Blasted’ has already been mentioned as a colloquial equivalent of ‘damnable’.

Skilly of the workhouse and Char Bydis of the middle class: Doolittle is referring to Scylla [silˊə] and Charybdis [kəribˊdis]. In the narrow strait that separates Italy and Sicily there is a dangerous rock and a whirlpool, which the ancient Greeks named Scylla and Charybdis. The expression “to be between Scylla and Charybdis” means to be between two evils, either one of which can be safely avoided only by risking the other, to be in a hopeless situation.

jolly soon: 'jolly' is used colloquially as ‘very’.

to let bygones be bygones: an expression meaning ‘to forget and forgive’.

make it up with: become friends again (after a quarrel).

to keep her off my hands: not to let her become my burden.

take me in: to take in here means ‘to deceive’ or ‘cheat’.

all over the place: everywhere and anywhere.

slang back at him: use abusive language to him.

come into some money: inherited some money.

let yourself down: humiliate yourself.

turned off: married.

demean myself [diˊmi:n]: here ‘humiliate or debase myself’.

for my pains: for the trouble I take, for my efforts. Note the expression to take pains = to do something very thoroughly, sparing no effort.

come to words: the plural ‘words’ has the meaning of angry talk. To come to words = to quarrel.

tremenjous: vulgar for ‘tremendous’.

to be low: to be in low spirits, depressed.

brougham [bru:əm]: a closed carriage or automobile having an outside seat for the driver, named after Lord Broughham, the British statesman (1778—1868).

played off very cunning: 'to play off' = to oppose (one person against another) especially for one's advantage; to cause a person to exhibit oneself to his disadvantage.

could have nailed him: 'to nail' is colloquial for ‘to succeed in getting hold of a person or a thing’, ‘to catch’.

chaperon [ˊʃpərəun]: to act as a chaperon, who is an older lady who goes with a young unmarried girl in public and is responsible for her behaviour

St. George's, Hanover Square: a church where many fashionable weddings took place.

put up with your tempers: tolerate, submit to your fits of irritation and ill humour.

a little taken down: to take down = to humble.

a black eye: an eye discoloured with a bruise. (Cf. "синяк под глазом".)

I won't be passed over: to pass over = to ignore, to overlook.

bounce and go: A play on words, since the words are applicable to a motor-bus, but also could mean: liveliness, vigour, boast, exaggeration.

get round me: to get round smb. = to deceive by false promises.

I think a good deal more of you: I respect you much more.

care twopence [ˊ keə ˊtʌpəns]: usually in negative; also not to care a button, a brass farthing, a fig, a pin = to have no concern about, to be quite indifferent to.

for all my fine clothes: in spite of my fine clothes.

settle money on you: bestow money legally on you, give you lawful possession of money.

what in thunder: stronger variant of ‘what on earth’.

talk down: to silence a person by superior language or tone.

toadying ignoramus [ˊtəudiiŋ ˏignəˊreiməs]: 'a toady'is someone who is too nice to people of higher rank; 'an ignoramus' is an ignorant person

wake up to me: to try to gain my favour by being appearing friendly, pleasant etc.

a millstone round my neck: a heavy burden on me.

a tower of strength: someone who can always be depended on to give help or support in times of trouble.

Gloucester... Stilton: well-known solid, rich, white English cheeses, the latter rather strong-tasting with grey-blue marks in it.

Epilogue

ready-mades: ‘ready-made’ is used to denote something made or prepared beforehand and kept in stock ready for use or sale; also ‘conventional’ or ‘common-place’.

reach-me-downs: ‘reach-me-down’ is a secondhand garment. Here it means something cheap, common, trivial.

Nell Gwynne: (1650—1687), an actress who became the mistress of Charles II. She had sold oranges on the streets of London.

to pick and choose: to choose and select carefully.

Landor: Walter Savage Landor (1775—1864), English writer.

Nietzsche: Freidrich Wilhelm Nietsche (1844—1900), German philosopher and writer.

under that... person's thumb: under that person's control, power or influence.

biting off more than one can chew: undertaking a task one is unable to carry out'; 'overestimating one's abilities'.

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