33
Magnificat: Hymn of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46-55)
34
Taj Mahaclass="underline" the massive, splendid mausoleum at Agra, India, built in the 17th century by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife
35
whitewash: concealment of faults or errors
36
throwback: living in the past
37
first tack: the first idea for a solution
38
lick: defeat (slang)
39
hop on the wagon: do something because it is popular (usually bandwagon)
40
Martian: supposed inhabitant of the planet Mars
41
hedge my bets: play safe, make sure that I am covered against all risks
42
tighten our belts: eat less, ration ourselves
43
House of Representatives: the lower House of the Congress of the United States
44
Plimsoll line: load line on outside of merchant ship showing the limit to which it may sink in the water when loaded (after Samuel Plimsoll, English MP)
45
hats … that might be eaten: from the proverbial expression ‘to eat one’s hat’, meaning to retract all that one has said in the event of being proved wrong
46
licked: defeated (slang)
47
commons, short: reduced rations of food
48
Order-in-Counciclass="underline" sovereign’s order on some matter of administration, given on the advice of the Privy Council (body of advisers to the sovereign)
49
rescinded: cancelled
50
Haydn: Austrian-born composer (1732–1809)
51
Black Death: the bubonic plague. Originated in Asia, reached England in lethal form in 1348-9. The skin of victims was blackened.
52
oscillate: move from one side to the other and back
53
spooned out: fed roughly, simply, as if to a child
54
crack-up: collapse
55
bolt-hole: hiding place
56
hauteur: haughtiness of manner
57
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
58
feel the pinch: suffer hardship
59
out of key: not in harmony with what is happening
60
off his rocker: mad (slang)
61
worriter: worrier (dialect)
62
mesh: engage
63
balloon’s up, The: The crisis has occurred.
64
true-blue: loyal
65
game, set and match: the final game in the final set, which clinches the victory (tennis)
66
millennium: one thousand years
67
pipe-line: channel of communication
68
palace revolution: having limited effects, not changing the ultimate power
69
washing his hands: keeping himself clean (not being held responsible for the shedding of blood)
70
cinema organ: in cinemas of the period (1950s) there was frequently an interlude in which an organist played music
71
court-martiaclass="underline" trial of a member of the Armed Forces, conducted by officers, for offences against military law
72
ditch: abandon (slang)
73
edged: sharp, nervous
74
urbs in rure: town in country, that is, an urban and rural area
75
Vanguard: popular make of car in the 1950s
76
Austin: popular make of car
77
chattels: goods, possessions
78
jaywalkers: casual pedestrians ignoring traffic while crossing the road
79
ammo: abbreviation for ammunition, bullets
80
Bisley shot: expert marksman; Bisley is a village in Surrey where the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association is held.
81
Advance the guards: the ordering of a regiment into action
82
clay-pipes: targets in a rifle range at a fairground