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September 05, 2005
The Catcher in the Rye Glossary
I got it into my head to read 'Catcher in the Rye' again. I must have nearly memorized it in high school, because every sentence seems deeply familiar.
It's not the thrill ride it used to be; I guess I was a whiny, depressed teenager when I first read it, which prevented me from noticing what a whiny, depressed teenager Holden Caulfield is.
What is clear to me now is what a distinctive vocabulary Caulfield has. I learned many words, most of them useless, by reading this book. Useless, because most are offensive, misogynist, and homophobic, and I guess even at a young age I realized that on some level. Or just really dated.
The one thing I remember distinctly still is the passage where he talks about riding the bus next to the headmaster's daughter. He says she wore "those falsies that point all over the place", and I remember I could never figure out if he meant false fingernails or false boobs. Both would, of course, be pointy. I realize now that he definitely means boobs.
Here are some words that this book either introduced me to or clarified for me in a particular way.
phony: I'm sure I knew this word prior to reading this book, but I was probably more familiar with the Scooby Doo meaning, ie, phony twenty-dollar bill, phony ghost, phony monster... reading CitR made it very, very, very clear that a person can be phony.
goddamn: I knew this word, too, from when I would make my mom very angry. Reading CitR was a great way to ensure that I really knew it, and had some idea of the frequency with which it could actually be employed.
Gladstone: I had no idea what a Gladstone was the first time I read this book. From context, I determined that it is some kind of suitcase.
grippe: I think this might mean the flu?
flit: Well, that's a fairly offensive one. I'll let you take a wild guess at its meaning because I'm frankly embarassed even writing it here. Fortunately, it appears that I had the good sense not to incorporate it into my vocabulary.
Phoebe: I had no idea how to pronounce this name the first several times I read the book. In my mind I said "fobe", with a long O.
give her the time: I think this mainly refers to having sex, but it might also refer generally to heavy petting.
a throw: It was fairly clear from context that this meant a single act of love. Well... not love exactly, I guess... since it was supposed to be with a prostitute.
that just slays me: This was a phrase I loved immediately and have long since incorporated it into my repertoire, but I often get the feeling that people have no idea what I mean when I say it, so I don't say it very often out loud.
Posted by lisa at September 05, 2005 10:09 PM
Comments
I read Catcher in the Rye again a couple years ago too. "Phony" and "that just slays me" are two of my favorite Holdenisms.
And when I was little I had a friend named Penelope. Once someone pronounced it--correctly--and I said no no, and pronounced it the way I thought was right, which rhymed with antelope. Oops.
Posted by: minty on September 6, 2005 10:37 AM
Catcher is my favorite book of all time. I think I've read it well over 10 times.
I like how the fish in central park get frozen in the lake in the winter, and just absorb nutrients through their pores. I love old Horwitz.
--Joe
"All morons hate it when you call them a moron."
Posted by: joe on September 6, 2005 12:03 PM
why am i not surprised by this? :)
Posted by: lisa on September 6, 2005 12:12 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.