puma – a long-tailed, slender, tawny-brown animal of the cat family, found in North and South America (also called mountain lion)
that bad (colloq.) - in such a bad state
trestle-table – a table made up of movable planks supported by a pair of trestles, special wooden frames consisting each of a horizontal beam with diverging legs
heel-taps – here the rhythmic sound made by the heels of the dancers
they had sung themselves from the heavens back to earth – they had passed the peak of their singing enthusiasm, which sounded like heaven to their listeners, and began to relax, as if coming hack to earth
vampire – in folklore and popular superstition, an evil spirit which enters a corpse that leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons; hence vampire bats – several species of tropical American bats, which live on the blood of animals
Luna's godfather – i.e. Luna himself, the man after whom the puma was named, as children are often named after their godparents
charmed – seemingly protected from harm as though by magic
collared peccary – a pig-like mammal of tropical America, about three feet long, greyish, with a white collar and sharp tusks
to have a soft spot for somebody – to have a weakness for somebody, to be unreasonably fond of somebody
an Eton collar – a broad, white linen collar, worn with a short black coat of a pupil of Eton college (an old public school for boys from privileged classes at Eton, near London)
retrousse [re'tru:sei] (Fr.) - turned up at the tip
I allowed her the run of the place – she was allowed to run free all about the place
ambrosial – delicious, fragrant like ambrosia (the food of the Gods and immortals in Greek and Roman mythology)
out of this world- a current expression meaning 'heavenly', i. e. 'not belonging to the ordinary world'
gourmet – a person who is expert in the choice of food and wine
to make sure of something – to act in such a way as to be certain of something (as here, to do everything to prevent the puma getting out of the cage)
Pegasus – in Greek mythology, a winged horse which sprang from the body of Medusa at her death. With a blow of his hoof he caused Hippocrene, the fountain of the Muses, to spring from Mount Helicon; he became therefore the symbol of poetic inspiration. Durrell thinks of Pegasus because of the queer shape of the horses' saddles.
By using the word-combination bony steeds, Durrell creates a comic effect. The adjective bony looks and sounds much like the old poetic word bonny (or bonnie) meaning 'beautiful, handsome' and well-known from Scotch popular ballads, where it often went together with the poetic steed for horse.
to press-gang – to force into service, from press-gang, n. - a group of men who round up other men and force them into naval or military service
earth-shaking – Durrell uses the word ironically, meaning that their conclusion was anything but original or unexpected
epiphyte ['epifait] – a non-parasitic plant that grows on another plant but gets its nourishment from the air, as certain orchids, mosses, and lichens
orchid ['o:kid] – an epiphyte plant often growing on trees; its flowers, especially those of tropical varieties, are of very bright colors
liana – any luxuriantly growing woody tropical vine that roots in the ground and climbs around tree trunks
sure-footed – not likely to stumble, slip, or fall
macabrely – in a macabre, i.e. horrible or ghastly way
gooey (sl.) - sticky as glue
as I ducked and twisted my way – as I made my way twisting and ducking (by twisting the author means that his path in the undergrowth changed its direction all the time, and by ducking, that he had to jerk his head or the whole body downwards to avoid the blows of the branches)
toukan, or toucan – a brightly colored, fruit-eating bird of tropical America, distinguished by a large, down curved beak
fungi – any of a group of plants, including mildew, molds, mushrooms, rusts and toadstools that have no leaves or flowers, and reproduce by means of spores
Venetian glass – fine glassware made in or near Venice
The author means that the gloomy and sinister landscape would have been a suitable place for the meeting of the three witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Macbeth.
anti-coagulant – a substance that prevents coagulation of blood
ticks – a large group of wingless insects that attach themselves to the skin of men or animals and suck their blood
birds of a feather flock together – a proverb which means that people with the same characteristics or tastes gather, assemble together
to stalk – to get close (usually to game) cautiously and noiselessly, without being seen, heard, or winded; the figure of a stalking Red Indian is familiar from numerous American works of fiction (e. g. novels by James Fenimore Cooper)
tree-snake – a variety of grass-snake, a small non-poisonous snake, having a very beautiful coloring of yellow, green and black with metal gleam, and living in trees and brushes
dropping (usually pl.) - dung of animals
lovesick swain (poet.) - a country youth hopelessly in love, so much in love as to feel sick or unhappy
boudoir ['bu:dwa:] – literally, 'a place to sulk in', from Fr. bouder 'to sulk'; formerly, the name was applied to a lady's private sitting-room or dressing-room, now it may mean any small private room, or even, as here, a bedroom (usually ironical)
Here we find an interplay of the two meanings of the noun extremity: 1) pl. 'the hands and feet'; 2) 'an extreme measure'.
The author speaks of this part of his anatomy as if it were some sort of food, like, say, "frozen leg of mutton" (note the absence of article).
Scott, Robert Falcon (1868-1912) – English naval officer and explorer, leader of two Antarctic expeditions, in the second of which he reached the South Pole (18th January 1912). Scott himself and the rest of the Pole party perished on the return journey.
overdraft – a withdrawal of money from a bank in excess of the amount credited to the drawer; the amount withdrawn in excess
the National Debt – the result of different credit operations of the state to get money necessary for meeting the expenditures which are not secured by the national income
rabies ['reibi:z] – an infectious virus disease of the central nervous system in dogs and other flesh-eating animals; it can be transmitted to man by the bite of an infected animal and is characterized by choking convulsions, inability to swallow liquids, etc.; it is fatal if not treated immediately (also called hydrophobia)