Chapter 5

Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.

If your edition has 183 pages, follow the pages marked a:

If your edition has 152 pages, follow b:

b: 80 - German-baroque
The Baroque style used contrast, movement, exuberant detail, deep color, grandeur, and surprise to achieve a sense of awe. In Germany baroque style arrived as the counter-reformation.[1] Here is a Germany travel guide on Baroque German Cities Baroque Cities

b: 81 - Shattuck Avenue
A major thoroughfare of the city of Berkeley and the University of California, Berkeley.[2]

a: 101, b: 81 - Plays of Ford, Webster, Tourneur and Wharfinger
John Ford is famous for Tis pity she's a whore, John Webster wrote The Duchess of Malfi and Cyril Tourneur wrote The Atheist's Tragedy, while the Revenger's Tragedy is ascribed to Tourneur with a great deal of controversy as regards authorship.

b: 81 - Quarto A format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produce eight book pages. Each printed page presents as one-fourth size of the full sheet. Establishes the time period of the "text".[3]

b: 82 - Alexandrine
A line of poetic meter comprising 12 syllables. [4]

b: 82 - Folio
A folio is made up of one or more full sheets of paper, on each of which four pages of text are printed, two on each side; each sheet is then folded once to produce two leaves. Each leaf of a folio book thus is one half the size of the original sheet. Ordinarily, additional printed folio sheets would be inserted inside one another to form a group or "gathering" of leaves prior to binding the book.[5]

b: 82 - Whitechapel
A East London, East End that has a long history. Whitechapel's spine is the old Roman Road, that ran from the Aldgate on London's Wall, to Colchester in Essex (Roman Britannia's first capital), and beyond. This road, which was later named the Great Essex Road, is now designated the A11. This historic route has the names Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road as it passes through, or along the boundary, of Whitechapel. For many centuries travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many coaching inns which lined Whitechapel High Street.[6]

b: 82 - Wheeler Hall and Sather Gate
Both of these national historical landmarks demonstrate Pynchon's eye for detail regarding location and setting. Wheeler Hall is in the Classical Revival style and named after Benjamin Ide Wheeler, philologist and university president.[7] Sather Gate, also in the Classical Revival Beaux-Arts style. The gate opens into the Sproul Plaza, the plaza where the busy protesting occurs.[8]

b: 82 - a plaza teeming with...
This is Sproul Plaza with a combination of a stairway that can be used as a large raised platform and a ready audience makes Upper Sproul Plaza a popular location for student protests, the first of which occurred in 1964 with the Free Speech Movement.[9]

a: 103, b: 83 - FSM's, YAF's, VDC's
Free Speech Movement, Young Americans for Freedom, and Vietnam Day Committee. The Free Speech Movement was a long-lasting protest on the University of California, Berkeley campus. It demanded that students be allowed to freely discuss the Vietnam War.[10] The Young Americans for Freedom was a conservative student coalition that supported Barry Goldwater in 1964. It was made up of conservatives and libertarians.[11] The VDC was a coalition of left-wing political groups, student groups, labour organizations, and pacifist religions in America that opposed the Vietnam War. It was formed in Berkeley in 1965 and was active through the majority of the war. [12]

a: 103, b: 83 - a national reflex to certain pathologies in high places only death had the power to cure
Presumably, the McCarthy era, which only ended with McCarthy's death in 1957.

a: 103, b: 83 - Siwash
A fictional college in stories by George Fitch (d. 1915), American author. Also, a small usually inland college that is notably provincial in outlook.

Also related to Native Americans?

Since "Siwash" is here compared to Berkeley university, I'd say no. Bleakhaus

b: 83 - Hondas and Suzukis
These Japanese motorcycles, which were flooding the market by the early 1960s, exemplify the beginning of the fall of American manufacturing. By 1964, Honda had become the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles.[13] Meanwhile Suzuki had established a subsidiary in Los Angeles to produce motorcycles for US consumers.[14]

a: 104, b: 83 - Secretaries James and Foster and Senator Joseph
James Forrestal, John Foster Dulles, and Joseph McCarthy.

a: 104, b: 84 - a shirt on various Polynesian themes and dating from the Truman administration
Recalls the shirt worn by Slothrop in Part 2 of Gravity's Rainbow, even though that one was Hawaiian and worn a few months before Truman took office.

b: 84 - Watusi
The Watusi is a solo dance that enjoyed brief popularity during the early 1960s. It was one of the most popular dance crazes of the 1960s in the United States.[15] Nefastis probably watches American Bandstand, the popular music/dance show that aired on Saturday mornings. The show had recently (1963) moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia.[16]

b: 84 - simpatico
Two definitions of simpatico, 1) having a compatible temperament or pleasing qualities; 2) compatible (with a person, thing, etc.). Which definition applies to Nefastis?[17].

b: 84-85 - entropy
This is the first mention of entropy in the book. Nefastis identifies two areas of entropy theory: thermodynamics and information theory. Entropy is a scientific concept that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the microscopic description of nature in statistical physics, and to the principles of information theory.[18] Nefastis finally describes it as a "figure of speech, ...a metaphor" which connects thermodynamics to information theory.

b: 84 - Maxwell's Demon
Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that appears to disprove the second law of thermodynamics. It was proposed by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1867.[19]

b: 85 - Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show.[20]

b: 85 - Magilla Gorilla
Magilla Gorilla (voiced by Allan Melvin) is a fun-loving yet trouble-prone anthropomorphic Western gorilla who spends his time languishing in the front display window of Melvin Peebles' pet shop, eating bananas and being a drain on the shop's finances.[21]

b: 85 - Peter Potamus
Peter Potamus is a purple animated hippopotamus that first appeared in the 1964–1966 animated television series The Peter Potamus Show, produced by Hanna-Barbera and first broadcast on September 16, 1964.[22]

b: 88 - Wells Fargo
Surviving the Panic of 1855 gave Wells Fargo two advantages. First, it faced virtually no competition in the banking and express business in California after the crisis; second, Wells Fargo attained a reputation for dependability and soundness. From 1855 through 1866, Wells Fargo expanded rapidly, becoming the West's all-purpose business, communications, and transportation agent.[23]

a: 110, b: 88 - Roos Atkins
Chain of upscale men's clothing stores in San Francisco [24]

b: 88 - North Beach
North Beach is a neighborhood in the northeast of San Francisco adjacent to Chinatown, the Financial District, and Russian Hill.[25]

b: 88 - cerise
a deep, bright red color tinted with pink.[26]

b: 89 - Finocchio's
Finocchio's Club was a former nightclub and bar in operation from 1936 to 1999 in North Beach, San Francisco, California.[27] Finocchio is also a fennel called Florence fennel.[28]

a: 112, b: 90 - sinophile
Someone fond of chinese culture. On occasion, the term is used to describe people who exhibit a sexual preference for Chinese or Asian partners. [29] The character being referred to is John Nefastis, who likes to do it when "there is something about China" on TV.

b: 91 - Inamorati Anonymous
A lover, a gallant [30] Anonymous alluding to Alcoholics Anonymous or other addiction recovery organizations. No meetings, just someone to help if they call a toll-free number. Much like the black musician in "A Secret Integration" from Slow Learner.

b: 92 - The Stack
The Stack interchange involved a complex set of exit and entry ramps of 3, 4 and even 5 levels built around the country.[31] The first stack interchange was the Four Level Interchange (renamed the Bill Keene Memorial Interchange), built in Los Angeles, California, and completed in 1949, at the junction of US Route 101 (US 101) and State Route 110 (SR 110).[32]

b: 92 - taking his Brody
Generally spelled Brodie, after Steve Brodie, who claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived. The phrase became vernacular for suicide attempts or taking great risks. [33]

b: 92 - Bhuddist Monk in Vietnam who set himself on fire
This would be Thích Quảng Đức who was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who died by self-immolation at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. [34]

b: 92 - Groovy
Opposite of square. Groovy is originally an expression from jazz, meaning musical, playable, as in a groovy record. The groove of the record has beat and soul. Something or someone groovy has beat and soul. The term was adopted by the musically inclined countercultures of beatniks and hippies. [35] Hardly a term to describe the self-immolation, nor does it seem typical of a military industrial corporation mid-level executive.

b: 92 - Buick
One of the oldest automobile companies still in operation. In the sixties they would have been a typical car for a mid-level executive. [36]

b: 92 - Zachary All suit
Zachary All Clothing on Wilshire Boulevard provided inexpensive suits with salesmen who were professional tailors. [37] The owner of the store was Edward Nalbandian, a local, Armenian-American businessman who made commercials that included such lines as "Eddie, are you joking? No, I am not joking." which inspired a song by Frank Zappa. [38]

b: 93 - Zippo
A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter produced by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States. In Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans (1984), describe the use of Zippo lighters in search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Edwards stated: "when you say level a village, you don't use torches. It's not like in the 1800s. You used a Zippo." [39]

b: 93 - hedgerows of Normandy
Normandy was the scene of furious fights several weeks after June 6, 1944. After the battle of the beaches, what historians today commonly call the “hedge war” begins with reference to the particular nature of the terrain on which To evolve the belligerent forces. The hedge warfare, also known as the “bocage”, began as early as the day after D-Day and ended at the end of August 1944, when the Allied troops ended up liberating most part of the present-day Basse-Normandie.[40]

b: 93 - the Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. [41] It was the setting for the Battle of the Bulge after the Normandy landing. [42] By identifying Normandy, Ardennes and Germany, Pynchon shows the executive and founder of IA to have been involved in the European front through the end of WWII. He obviously had seen his share of combat.

b: 93 - efficiency expert
An efficiency expert consults with a company to find redundancies and inefficiencies. [43] There is an Edgar Rice Boroughs book titled The Efficiency Expert' written in 1921. [44]

a: 115, b: 93 - IBM 7094
At the time of publishing, this was the top-of-the-line computer. One of those HUGE room sized ones.[45]

b: 94 - Chinatown
The Chinatown in San Francisco is one of the largest in North America and the oldest north of Mexico. It served as a port of entry for early Chinese immigrants from the 1850s to the 1900s. [46]

b: 94 - herbalist
A Chinese herbalist would use Chinese herbology, the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine. [47]

b: 94 - ideographs
Pynchon uses "ideographs" to describe Chinese characters, which are actually logographs. Chinese characters[a] are used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Chinese characters have a documented history spanning over three millennia, representing one of the four independent inventions of writing accepted by scholars; of these, they comprise the only writing system continuously used since its invention. [48]

b: 95 - sonorous
Full of sound and rich, as in language or verse. [49]

b: 96 - Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond and Sunset districts of San Francisco, United States. It is the largest park in the city, containing 1,017 acres (412 ha), and the third-most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 24 million visitors annually. [50]

a: 119, b: 96 - Jesus Arrabal
Jesus Arrabal' conflates Jesus' a word, generally fixed in meaning as the figure at the Center of Christianity, [and also a common Christian Name in Catholic Latin American], with Arrabal a Spanish word that grew from Arab roots, arrabal (suburb - al-rabad). The word changed in meaning over time to include the suburbs, the outlands, and the slums, all zones of exclusion. The word Arrabal as a proper name leads us to Fernando Arrabal, noted playwright working in the Theater of the Absurd.[51] It may also refer to James Jesus Angleton, a high-ranking CIA official who led Operation Chaos against domestic dissidents.[52] Finally, spoken aloud it sounds like Jesus 'orrible. See a: 129, b: 105 - high magic to low puns, below.

a: 119, b: 96 - Conjuración de los Insurgentes Anarquistas
A fictional Anarchist organization with the acronym C.I.A., a pun that serves to remind us once again of the secretive intelligence organization. Conjuración is both conjuration and conspiracy, so it is both a Conspiracy of Insurgent Anarchists and a Conjuration of Insurgent Anarchists. As in both Pan's Labyrinth and Against the Day there is an Anarchist/Magical co-conspiracy.

a: 119, b: 96 - Flores Magon brothers
Ricardo, Jesús and Enrique Flores Magón led anarchist movements in Mexico in the early 1900's. Magonism (Spanish: Magonismo) is an anarchist, or more precisely anarcho-communist, school of thought precursor of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It is mainly based on the ideas of Ricardo Flores Magón, his brothers Enrique and Jesús, and also other collaborators of the Mexican newspaper Regeneración.[53]

a: 119, b: 96 - Zapata
Emiliano Zapata was another Mexican revolutionary in the early 1900's.[54]

b: 97 - yucateco
A member of the Mayan people of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico.[55]

b: 97 - oligarchist
Jesús means oligarch, a member of the elite of an oligarchy, which is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.[56]

b: 97 - pobrecito
Jesús refers to Oedipa as pobrecito, a Spanish word that translates to poor, little thing. Does he mean to show empathy or belittle her?[57]

b: 97 - Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, social anarchist,[5] and collectivist anarchist traditions. Bakunin's prestige as a revolutionary also made him one of the most famous ideologues in Europe, gaining substantial influence among radicals throughout Russia and Europe.[58] Bakunin elaborates on his definition of miracles in "God and the State".[59]

b: 97 - cataclysm
Jesús explains that when two different worlds collide, they create a cataclysm. This is how he feels about his meeting with Pierce. A cataclysm is a sudden, violent event, often geological.[60]

b: 97 - señá
Jesús says "And yet, señá, if any of it should ever really ahppen that perfectly, I would aalso have to cry miracle. Jesús appears to claim that he is giving Oedipa a hint, clue or point in the right direction. [61]

b: 97 - privilegiado
Jesús refers to the privileged class in Mexico, which he still considered to be humble on some level, unlike Pierce.[62]

b: 97 - a Virgin appearing to an Indian
Jesús probably means Juan Diego, an Aztec, and Our Lady of Guadelupe.[63] Jesús uses this as an example of his definition of "miracle". [64]

b: 98 - priistas
Members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional or PRI): a Mexican political party. It was formed in 1929 and was the dominant political party for much of the 20th century.[65]

b: 98 - Anarcho-syndicalism
is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in broader society.[66]

b: 98 - Regeneración
Here are some examples of the Mexican anarcho-syndicalist newspaper, but from 1913-1915.[67]

b: 98 - Negroes
In the English language, the term negro (or sometimes negress for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black African heritage. The term negro means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from Latin niger), where English took it from.[1] The term can be viewed as offensive, inoffensive, or completely neutral, largely depending on the region or country where it is used, as well as the time period and context in which it is applied. It has various equivalents in other languages of Europe. Pynchon's use of the term timestamps the book in the early sixties, as the terms "black" and "African-American" haven't entered the American vernacular.[68]

b: 98 - Fillmore
The Fillmore District is a historical neighborhood in San Francisco located to the southwest of Nob Hill, west of Market Street and north of the Mission District.[69] It would be an interesting exercise to map Oedipa's route through the Bay area.

b: 99 - transistor radio
A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenient hand-held devices—the Regency TR-1 was released in 1954 becoming the first commercial transistor radio.[70] Another timestamp for the book.

b: 99 - Top 200
On August 4, 1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart: the Hot 100, with "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson its first No. 1. The Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13, 1958.[71] Pynchon probably exaggerates the number by doubling it to emphasize the low popularity of the songs.

b: 99 - Out at the airport
San Francisco International Airport is the primary international airport serving the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is located in San Mateo County. As Oedipa walks around the airport this is another pre-9-11 timestamp when people could wander the airport without security checks.[72]

b: 99 - Alameda County
Alameda County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353,[4][6] making it the 7th-most populous county in the state[7] and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland.[8] Alameda County is in the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying much of the East Bay region.[73]

b: 100 - Marbling
Marbling (intramuscular fat) is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean. Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs. Degree of marbling is the primary determination of quality grade.[74]

b: 100 - Interregnum
An intermission in any order of succession; any breach of continuity in action or influence. This is usually associated with the change in a leadership role, king, president, etc.[75]

a: 125, b: 101 - jitney
A type of taxi, but with a regular route, that stops at any point along the way that you want. It is also shared with other riders. Jitneys are run, usually, entrepreneurially and often unlicensed. A kind of off-the-grid "taxi".[76][77]

b: 101 - Howard Street
Howard Street is a street in San Francisco's South of Market District (SoMa). It begins after branching off from Van Ness Avenue near the Mission District, and then runs parallel to and between of Mission Street (to the North) and Folsom Street (to the South) towards The Embarcadero.[78]

b: 101 - The Embarcadero
(Spanish for "Embarkment") is the eastern waterfront of Port of San Francisco and a major roadway in San Francisco, California. [79]

b: 102 - Fresno
Fresno (Spanish for 'Ash') is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. This is where the sailor says his wife lives. Interesting that she lives in an inland city rather than on the coast.[80]

b: 102 - flinders
fragments, splinters [81]

b: 103 - Homburg hat
A homburg is a semi-formal hat of fur felt, characterized by a single dent running down the centre of the crown (called a "gutter crown"), a wide silk grosgrain hatband ribbon, a flat brim shaped in a "pencil curl", and a ribbon-bound trim about the edge of the brim. It is traditionally offered in black or grey.[82]

b: 103 - beaverboard partitions
Beaverboard (also beaver board) is a fiberboard building material, formed of wood fibre compressed into sheets.[83]

b: 103 - picture of a saint
The saint who changes water into oil for the lamps in Jerusalem is Saint Narcissus. This links back to chapter 2 and San Narciso.[84] [85]

b: 103 - Roos/Atkins suit Roos/Atkins was the name of a chain of upscale men's clothing stores based in San Francisco, California. It was formed through a 1957 merger of the Robert Atkins and Roos Brothers clothiers. The chain expanded after World War II to include several locations throughout northern California, but declined in the 1980s; by the early 1990s all locations had been closed or sold to other retailers.[86]

b: 104 - Ramírez
Ramírez is a Spanish-language patronymic surname of Germanic origin, meaning "son of Ramiro".[87]

b: 104 - Viking's funeral
A Viking would be buried in a ship, usually burned at the site along with his possessions.[88] This alludes to Beowolf's ending as well.[89]

b: 104 - DT's delirium tremens
Delirium tremens (DTs; lit. 'mental disturbance with shaking') is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol. When it occurs, it is often three days into the withdrawal symptoms and lasts for two to three days. Physical effects may include shaking, shivering, irregular heart rate, and sweating.[1] People may also hallucinate. Occasionally, a very high body temperature or seizures (colloquially known as "rum fits") may result in death.[90]

a: 129, b: 105 - time differential (dt) A derivative of a variable or function with respect to time.[91] (mathematics, calculus) A derivative of a function with respect to time, usually interpreted as the rate of change of the value of the function.[92]

a: 129, b: 105 - high magic to low puns

see High Magic to Low Puns

a: 129, b: 105 - spectra
Plural of spectrum. a continuous, infinite, one-dimensional set, possibly bounded by extremes. Has other mathematical definitions.[93]

b: 106 - Market Street
Market Street is a major thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. It begins at The Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building at the northeastern edge of the city and runs southwest through downtown, passing the Civic Center and the Castro District, to the intersection with Portola Drive in the Twin Peaks neighborhood.[94]

b: 106 - City Hall
San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917.[95]

b: 106 - Civic Center
The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, is an area located a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions.[96]

b: 106 - trans-bay bus terminal
The San Francisco Transbay Terminal was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, United States, roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2nd Street in the South of Market area of the city. It closed on August 7, 2010, to make way for the construction of the replacement facility, the Transbay Transit Center, and associated towers.[97]

b: 106 - Oakland
Oakland is a city in the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California.[98]

b: 106 - Telegraph
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, California. It is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) in length.[99]

b: 106 - Berkeley
Berkeley is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley.[100]

b: 107 - Harris tweed coat
Harris tweed (Scottish Gaelic: Clò mór or Clò hearach) is a tweed cloth that is handwoven by islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides. This definition, quality standards and protection of the Harris tweed name are enshrined in the Harris Tweed Act 1993.[101]

b: 107 - waltz
The waltz (from German Walzer [ˈvalt͡sɐ̯]), meaning "to roll or revolve")[1] is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple (3/4 time), performed primarily in closed position.[102]

b: 107 - tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Argentine Milonga, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Uruguayan Candombe celebrations. In tango, the steps are typically more gliding, but can vary widely in timing, speed, and character, and follow no single specific rhythm. Because the dance is led and followed at the level of individual steps, these variations can occur from one step to the next. This allows the dancers to vary the dance from moment to moment to match the music (which often has both legato and/or staccato elements) and their mood.[103]

b: 107 - two-step
A two-step consists of two steps in approximately the same direction onto the same foot, separated by a joining or uniting step with the other foot. For example, a right two-step forward is a forward step onto the right foot, a closing step with the left foot, and a forward step onto the right foot. The closing step may be done directly beside the other foot, or obliquely beside, or even crossed, as long as the closing foot does not go past the other foot.[104] Or maybe they were dancing the country-western swing two-step. The country/western two-step, often called the Texas two-step or simply the two-step, is a country/western dance usually danced to country music in common time.[105]

b: 107 - bossa nova
Bossa nova was also a fad dance that corresponded to the music. It was introduced in the late 1950s and faded out in the mid-sixties. A variant of basic 8-beat pattern was: "step forward, tap, step back, step together, repeat from the opposite foot".[106]

b: 107 - slop
Probably not what Pynchon intended, but it is interesting that slop is an acronym for Strategic lateral offset procedure (SLOP), which is a solution to a byproduct of increased navigation accuracy in aircraft. Because most now use GPS, aircraft track flight routes with extremely high accuracy. As a result, if an error in height occurs, there is a much higher chance of collision. SLOP allows aircraft to offset the centreline of an airway or flight route by a small amount, normally to the right, so that collision with opposite direction aircraft becomes unlikely.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lateral_offset_procedure]

a: 132, b: 107 - Oedipa checked out of the hotel and drove down the peninsula
This may be a continuity goof by Pynchon. "in chapter 5, Oedipa parks her car in San Francisco's North Beach, then spends the night wandering through the Bay Area on foot and by bus, ending up the next morning at her hotel in Berkeley; after a short sleep she "check out of the hotel and drove down the peninsula." How did her car get from San Francisco to Berkeley?" Edward Mendelson, "Gravity's Encyclopedia," fn. 12.

8 cent Airmail stamp

b: 108 - Gewehr 43
The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 (abbreviated G43, K43, Gew 43, Kar 43) is a 7.92×57mm Mauser caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Germany during World War II.[107] The rifle used a 7.92x57mm Mauser round, which Hilarius complains are defective.[108]

b: 109 - PBX
A PBX is a telephone exchange or switching system that serves a private organization. A PBX permits the sharing of central office trunks between internally installed telephones, and provides intercommunication between those internal telephones within the organization without the use of external lines.[109]

b: 109 - hipshot
(US, colloquial) Standing with one hip lower than the other.[110]

b: 109 - Speer and his ministry of cretins
Albert Speer was Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich and Hitler's chief architect. Despite doubts about his credibility, at the Nuremberg trials, he was the only defendant to accept responsibility for his involvement with the Nazi regime, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while many of his colleagues were executed.[111]

b: 109 - karate-chop A strike with the bottom side of an open hand.[112] Some interesting examples in the Urban Dictionary.[113]

b: 109 - Freudian
Hilarius means that he follows Sigmund Freud, who was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in the psyche, through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of mind and human agency derived from it.[114] This method establishes an important theme in the book.

b: 109 - cantankerous
Given to or marked by an ill-tempered, quarrelsome nature; ill-tempered, cranky, crabby. Cantankerous is generally used to describe an unpleasant elderly person in a slightly pejorative manner.[115]

b: 109 - Jew
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים‎, Yehudim, Israeli pronunciation: [jehuˈdim]) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites of the ancient Near East, and whose traditional religion is Judaism.[116] Preceded by cantankerous and spoken by a Nazi war criminal, this is used pejoratively by Hilarius.

b: 109 - nicht wahr
German: not true? : isn't that so?[117]

b: 109 - penance
A voluntary self-imposed punishment for a sinful act or wrongdoing. It may be intended to serve as reparation for the act.[118]

b: 110 - Biedermeyer furniture
The term derives from the fictional mediocre poet Gottlieb Biedermaier [sic], who featured in the Munich magazine Fliegende Blätter (Flying Leaves). It is used mostly to denote the unchallenging artistic styles that flourished in the fields of literature, music, the visual arts and interior design. Biedermeier has influenced later styles.[119]

b: 110 - slide whistle
A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee or swannee whistle, lotus flute, piston flute, or jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it.[120] Usually a children's toy, this makes for a derogatory image of a siren, silly at the least.

b: 110 - Your Israeli
Obviously referring to citizens of the state of Israel, officially the State of Israel,[b] is a country in the Southern Levant, West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon and Syria to the north, the West Bank and Jordan to the east, Egypt, the Gaza Strip and the Red Sea to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.[121] Hilarius' paranoia runs deep for reasons soon discovered.

b: 110 - Zvi
Zvi (Hebrew: צְבִי and צבי‎, Tzvi, Ṣvi, "gazelle") is a Jewish masculine given name.[122]

b: 110 - oubliette
A dungeon only accessible by a trapdoor at the top.[123] Quite a face!!

b: 111 - sling arms
Here is an Army drill sergeant training video to show how it is done. There are so many military terms that both the narrator (understandable) and Oedipa (not clear why she knows and uses these terms) use.

b: 111 - reality principle
In Freudian psychology and psychoanalysis, the reality principle is the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly, as opposed to acting according to the pleasure principle. The reality principle is the governing principle of the actions taken by the ego, after its slow development from a "pleasure-ego" into a "reality-ego".[124]

b: 111 - Buchenwald
Buchenwald (German pronunciation: [ˈbuːxn̩valt]; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg [de] hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich. Many actual or suspected communists were among the first internees.[125]

b: 112 - Eichmann The Eichmann trial was the 1961 trial in Israel of major Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann who was captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel to stand trial.[126] Adolf Eichmann had been in charge of the "Final Solution".[127]

b: 112 - catatonic
having a tendency to remain in a rigid state of stupor for long periods which give way to short periods of extreme agitation.[128]

b: 112 - liberal SS circles
The dark humor of imagining "liberal" SS circles may be lost in the modern U.S., but the definition of liberal as one with liberal views, supporting individual liberty[129] seems to fit, especially as in the 1960s, there were actual liberal Republicans represented by Rockefeller Republicans, who were members of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to-liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vice President of the U.S. (1974–1977). For a more robust discussion of liberal see the Wikipedia entry.

b: 112 - humane
Having or showing concern for the pain or suffering of another; compassionate.[130] Again, dark humor to describe the perpetrators of The Holocaust.

b: 112 - metronomes
A metronome (from Greek μέτρον (métron) 'measure', and νομός (nomós) 'law') is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM).[131]

b: 112 - serpents
The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols.[132][133]

b: 112 - Brechtian vignettes
Bertolt Brecht,[a] was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet.[134] A vignette is a short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture.[135][136]

b: 112 - magic-lantern
The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name lanterna magica, was an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a single lens inverts an image projected through it (as in the phenomenon which inverts the image of a camera obscura), slides were inserted upside down in the magic lantern, rendering the projected image correctly oriented.[137]

b: 112 - hallucinations
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality.[138]

b: 112 - Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. Jung's research and personal vision, however, made it difficult to follow his older colleague's doctrine and they parted ways. This division was painful for Jung and resulted in the establishment of Jung's analytical psychology, as a comprehensive system separate from psychoanalysis.[139]

b: 112 - solfeggio
is a mnemonic used in teaching aural skills, pitch and sight-reading of Western music. Solfège is a form of solmization, though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.[140]

b: 112 - V-2
The V2 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit. 'Vengeance Weapon 2'), with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A4), was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. The V2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line (edge of space) with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. The V-2 is an essential element in Gravity's Rainbow.[141]

a: 139, b: 114 - Edna Mosh
Mucho Maas deliberately distorts the sound of his wife's name to compensate for the distortions of AM radio in the mid-sixties.

b: 114 - Caesar
It derives from the cognomen of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. The change from being a surname to a title used by the Roman emperors can be traced to AD 68, following the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. When used on its own, the title denoted heirs apparent, which would later adopt the title Augustus on accession. The title remained an essential part of the style of the emperors, and became the word for "emperor" in some languages, such as German (kaiser) and Russian (tsar).[142]

b: 114 - Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey[2] MBE[3] (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles.[143]

b: 114 - Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song "The Twist", and the pony dance style with the 1961 cover of the song "Pony Time".[144]

b: 114 - the Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963.[145]

b: 115 - iridescences, auras
Aniridescence is an exhibition of colors like those of the rainbow; a prismatic play of color.[146] An aura is an invisible force surrounding a living creature.[147] Pynchon makes this and aura plural, indicating that Oedipa attempts to discern the multiple personalities that Funch describes.

b: 116 - His E string
Mucho identifies one of the strings of the violin. The E string is the highest pitched string on a violin. That Mucho can pick this one string out of 68 strings of 17 violins is amazing.[148]

b: 116 - spectrum analysis
Mucho claims to be able to do what a spectrum analyzer can do. A spectrum analyzer measures the magnitude of an input signal versus frequency within the full frequency range of the instrument.[149]

a: 143, b: 117 - She Loves You
The Beatles third single, first issued in the U.S. on the obscure Swan label.

b: 118 - hophead
A drug user or addict. Hophead is an umbrella term for users of everything from cocaine to marijuana (or 'tea' - which is a jazz era term, not one that originated with the Beats as is erroneously noted elsewhere @ the Urban Dictionary) to benzedrine (aka 'bennies'/amphetamine). The term sprang from the early jazz scene in 1920's/30's America.[150]

See: She Loves You And More

b: 118 - hophead
A drug user or addict. Hophead is an umbrella term for users of everything from cocaine to marijuana (or 'tea' - which is a jazz era term, not one that originated with the Beats as is erroneously noted elsewhere @ the Urban Dictionary) to benzedrine (aka 'bennies'/amphetamine). The term sprang from the early jazz scene in 1920's/30's America.[151]

b: 118 - National Automobile Dealers Association N.A.D.A.
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is an American trade organization representing nearly 16,500 franchised new car and truck dealerships, both domestic and foreign. Established in 1917, the organization is based in Tysons Corner, Virginia. As the automotive retail industry's primary trade association, NADA monitors federal legislation and regulation affecting dealerships and publishes forecasts and reports about industry trends.[152] "Nada" in Spanish means "nothing".[153]

b: 119 - twelve tone
The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer,[not verified in body] who published his "law of the twelve tones" in 1919. In 1923, Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) developed his own, better-known version of 12-tone technique, which became associated with the "Second Viennese School" composers, who were the primary users of the technique in the first decades of its existence.[154]