Igpay Atinlay

[James A. Landau]

Some of these are standard English colloquialisms.  
Some of these are not part of usual colloquial English and are either 
inventions of the author or mistakes by the author.
At least one is a play on words.

Many of these cannot be decyphered without context.

> 1.You are not so very blooming yourself p9

"blooming" is perhaps from the expression "blooming idiot" which is a 
colorful way of calling someone dumb

> 2.Isn’t it though p16

Usually used only to intensify the previous statement

> 5.so just come in for crying out loud p23
> 74.Well, for crying out loud p168

"for crying out loud" is a intensifier, stronger than the one in #2

8. cold cuts?

meat served cold, frequently sliced, frequently for use in sandwiches

> 
> 9.Intricate to a fault? P31
> 

"to a fault" means that the thing is overly intricate, that is, 
intricate-ness in this case is no longer a virtue but has been carried so far 
that it is a fault

> 12.She commands the stage by God, and it hasn’t got a thing to do with her!

"by God" is an intensifer

> 
> 15.Your outing did you a world of good p47

"did you a world of good" = was very beneficial to you


> 16.we are done for:? p48

defeated, at the end of our resources

> 
> 18.I feel like getting it off my chest p49:

"getting it off my chest" = confessing in hopes that one will feel better 
afterwards

> 
> 21.Will wonders never cease:p56

an expression of surprise at an unexpected beneficial event happening


> 22.But you have no more tricks up your sleeve? P57

a reference to a magician.  a synonymous phrase is "rabbits out of your hat". 
 Means unexpected actions that solve a problem

> 
> 27. So that all this may look like it holds water. You have been impossible
> up until now.  p81

a plan that "holds water" is a plan that is workable

> 
> 32.for Pete’s sake?
33.But give hime room to breathe for Pete’s sake p86 : Allah aþkýna izin ver
de bir nefes alsýn..

intensifier, implying strong annoyance or sometimes astonishment on the part 
of the speaker

> 
> 34.If you had your heart sen on being hooted down, you could not have done
> better P87

"hooted down" = having your idea dismissed by everybody in the audience.  
Probably originally referring to a meeting in which someone's proposal, 
instead of being voted on, was dismissed by people laughing at it

> 
> 37.Your praises are sung p88:

"to sing one's praises" = to say complimentary things about one


> 38.That was bluffing p92.

"bluffing" = to try to win an argument, fight, etc. by pretending one has 
superior means, forces, finanaces, etc. that one in reality does not have.  
Widely used in the American gambling game of poker, where a player pretends 
to have winning cards in hopes that his opponents will decide to concede the 
money already at risk rather than putting up more money in order to see if 
the first player really does have winning cards

> 
> 40.It is not the line I would have taken p93

"the line I would have taken" =  the argument I would have made

> 
> 42.Have too keep the rubbernecks well entertained p97:

onlookers who have nothing to do with the situation, e.g. motorists who slow 
down to stare at an accident at the side of the road even though the road is 
clear.  from the idea that such an onlooker must have a neck made of rubber 
to be able to look around to the sides so much when he should be looking 
straight ahead

> 
> 45.That must have dealt him a low blow p105:

originally a polite way of saying a punch or kick to the testicles, now used 
to mean any unethical, immoral, unsportsmanlike etc tactic


> 46.He denies her right of entry p106:

"right of entry" may be a legal term
> 
> 54.He doesn’t give a thinker’s damn p131:

a pun on the phrase "tinker's damn", meaning something worthless, commonly 
used in the phrase "I don't give a tinker's damn" = "i don't care"


> 55.It is not enough that he insists on explaining himself only in the wings,
> but he requires imbeciles to the bargain p133

"in the wings" was originally a theatrical term, meaning in the areas of the 
stage not visible to the audience.  However, #55 does not make sense.  If he 
is explaining "only in the wings" (where no one can hear him), he has no 
audience, whether of normal people or of imbeciles

> 
> 62.That would be to let all hell break loose p146

a similar phrase would be "to let all the demons of hell loose".  To have all 
sorts of chaotic or undesirable things happen

> 
> 65.The merest streetlamp, just something to set off the fog p149:

"set off" possibly is being used in the sense employed by an artist, to 
provide a small amount of emphasis

> 
> 71.He is in a class by himself p166

is a nonpareil, has nobody comparable to him


> 72.Everybody has his dealer p166

#72 impossible to decypher without context.  One possibility is that "dealer 
in narcotics or other illegal items" is meant, in which case #72 means 
"everybody is involved in some criminal act"
> 
> 80.Don’t let yourself be pushed around!

"to be pushed around" = to let others take advantage of you or to let others 
dictate what you do


             - James A. Landau