Discworld Annotations (9) - Guards! Guards! - part 2 @~Concluded from last issue [p. 114/104] "Pour encourjay lays ortras." Discworld version of the French phrase "pour encourager les autres". The phrase originates with Voltaire who, after the British executed their own admiral John Byng in 1757 for failing to relieve Minorca, was inspired to write (in Chapter 23 of Candide) a sentence that translates to: "in this country we find it pays to shoot an admiral from time to time to encourage the others". [p. 116/106] "'For example, foxes are always knocking over my dustbins.'" Terry, at least at one point in his life, lived in the west country, near Bristol. Bristol has become famous for its urban foxes (although they apparently operate in all largish greenish cities in the UK). About 10-12 years ago, BBC Bristol made a famous programme on these urban foxes, called Foxwatch. On this programme, hitherto unachieved photographs of vixens caring for their sprogs were aired; this made the programme (which was narrated by David Attenborough) very famous. The Archchancellor's rant is a very good approximation of a David Attenborough wildlife programme narration. And according to the Foxwatch myth, foxes knock over dustbins. [p. 117/107] "'Did you suggest a working party?', said Wonse." It is British Government Policy to suggest a working party whenever an intractable problem presents itself. It is usually stocked with opposition MPs. [p. 118/108] "Once you've ruled out the impossible then whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truth. [...] There was also the curious incident of the orangutan in the night-time ..." Two Sherlock Holmes references for the price of one. The original quotes are "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" from The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, and "[...] the curious incident of the dog at nighttime" in Silver Blaze. The second reference also reminds me, in a very roundabout way, of Edgar Allan Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. [p. 120/110] "[...] as ghastly an array of faces as ever were seen outside a woodcut about the evils of gin-drinking [...]" The reference here is to the famous series of 18th century morality woodcuts by William Hogarth, with names like "Gin Lane" and "Beer Street". [p. 126/115] "'Dunno where this place is, Captain. It belongs to some posh bint.'" This is very British slang. Posh, meaning upper class, arises from the days of the Empire. It is an acronym, standing for 'Port Out, Starboard Home'. These were the most pleasant (least hot?) cabins on the ships sailing to the jewel in the crown, India, and therefore the most expensive, meaning that only the aristocracy could afford them. (The above explanation is in fact quite false -- that is, it's true that posh means upper class, but the acronym is one of these persistent, oh so plausible, after-the-fact etymologies, which are nearly always wrong.) 'Bint' arises as a bit of cockney soldier slang in WWII. It is actually Arabic for 'young girl'. Many British soldiers were stationed in Alexandria, Egypt, in North Africa, and this word was brought into the language by them. [p. 134/122] "'So I'm letting you have a place in Pseudopolis Yard.'" The Watch's second base, affectionately called 'The Yard', is a reference to Scotland Yard, where the British Police Headquarters used to be located (these days, they have moved to New Scotland Yard). [p. 136/124] "This is Lord Mountjoy Quickfang Winterforth IV, the hottest dragon in the city. It could burn your head clean off." Vimes replays here one of the best-known scenes in Clint Eastwood's first 'Dirty Harry' movie, the 1971 Dirty Harry. "Aha! I know what you're thinking... Did I fire six shots or only five? To tell you the truth, I forgot it myself in all this excitement. This here's a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and it can blow your head clean off. Now, you must ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do you, punk?" Note how nicely Winterforth the fourth corresponds to the caliber of the Magnum. [p. 143/130] "''E's plain clothes, ma'am,' said Nobby smartly. 'Special Ape Services'." Special Ape Services shares the acronym SAS with the crack British troops who are sent to storm embassies, shoot prisoners of war, and execute alleged terrorists before anything has been proven by trial, etc. Not that one wants to get political, mind you. [p. 156/141] "'Ah. Kings can cure that, you know,' said another protomonarchist knowingly." See the annotation for p. 103/76 of Lords and Ladies . [p. 162/147] "[...] and stepped out into the naked city." The Naked City was an American TV cop show in the 50s, mostly forgotten today, except for its prologue narration: "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This is one of them." [p. 164/149] "There are some songs which are never sung sober. 'Nellie Dean' is one. So is any song beginning 'As I was a walking...'" 'Nellie Dean' is an old music hall song: There's an old mill by the stream Nellie Dean. Where we used to sit and dream Nellie Dean. For an explanation of songs beginning 'As I was a walking...' see the annotation for p. 313/238 of Men at Arms . [p. 200/181] "'This is love-in-a-canoe coffee if ever I tasted it.'" This refers to the punchline of the old joke (familiar from, for instance, a Monty Python sketch): Q: What do American beer and making love in a canoe have in common? A: They're both f***ing close to water. [p. 200/182] "'He's called Rex Vivat.'" Rex Vivat, of course, means: "long live the king". This reminds me a bit of Robert Rankin, who named his lead character in They Came And Ate Us Rex Mundi. Rex's sister has a role in the book too. Her name is Gloria. Now you may begin to understand why Rankin is so often discussed on alt.fan.pratchett, and why there is so much overlap between his and Terry's audiences. [p. 236/214] "'The Duke of Sto Helit is looking for a guard captain, I'm sure.'" The Duke of Sto Helit, in case anyone had forgotten, is none other than Mort. [p. 241/219] "Someone out there was going to find out that their worst nightmare was a maddened Librarian. With a badge." The movie 48 Hrs, starring Nick Nolte and Eddy Murphy, has a scene in which Eddy Murphy is in a bar full of rednecks, shouting "I am your worst nightmare! A nigger with a badge!" [p. 260/236] "'If that dragon's got any voonerables, that arrow'll find 'em.'" Killing dragons by shooting a magical arrow in a special location is a standard clich‚ of mythology and fantasy fiction. One of the best-known contemporary examples can be found in Tolkien's The Hobbit, where Bard kills the dragon Smaug with a special black arrow. [p. 278/252] "'All for one!' [...] 'All for one what?' said Nobby." "All for one and one for all" was of course the motto of the Three Musketeers. A whole new generation has learned about this through the combined efforts of an uninspired Disney flick and a particularly nauseating song by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting. [p. 282/256] "Both dragons appeared to realise that the fight was the well-known Klatchian standoff." Or Mexican standoff in our world, which is when two people have loaded, cocked guns pointed right at each other. If either shoots, they both die. This leaves them stuck, since if either just turns away, the other will immediately shoot him. [p. 284/257] The scene where Errol's supersonic boom smashes the dragon out of the air is possibly based on another Clint Eastwood movie, the 1982 Firefox. [p. 289/262] "'In 1135 a hen was arrested for crowing on Soul Cake Thursday.'" There are several historical examples in our world of animals being arrested, excommunicated or killed for various crimes. Articles in the October 1994 issue of Scientific American and in The Book of Lists #3 give several examples: a chimpanzee was convicted in Indiana in 1905 of smoking in public; 75 pigeons were executed in 1963 in Tripoli for ferrying stolen money across the Mediterranean; and in 1916, "five-ton Mary" the elephant killed her trainer and was subsequently sentenced to death by hanging - - a sentence that involved a 100-ton derrick and a steam shovel. But the law is fair, and sometimes the animals get the better of it: when in 1713 a Franciscan monastery brought the termites who had been infesting their buildings to trial, a Brazilian court ruled that termites had a valid prior claim to the land, and ordered the monks to give the termites their own plot. [p. 313/284] "'Sergeant Colon said he thought we'd get along like a maison en Flamb‚.'" Maison en Flamb‚ = house on fire. [p. 314/285] "'Here's looking at you, kid,' he said." Another quote from Casablanca. @~Next issue - Eric - o -