Footnotes to the TV series
LUKE: Well, you know how Jess works at Wal-Mart … Well, it seems he was actually chosen Employee of the Month.
Employee of the Month, a monthly reward program given out by companies (often to encourage the staff to work harder). It involves recognising employees for achieving excellence in their field, and being the best worker. The system is popular in North America.
RORY: They’re not going to see our pro/con lists.
LORELAI: What if they subpoena them?
Subpoena, a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure.
Naturally Rory is busy making up pro-con lists to decide whether to accept Harvard or not.
PARIS: [Rory’s] never had sex. She’ll probably go to Harvard. She’s a shoo-in.
Shoo-in, North American informal English, meaning “a certainty, an easy winner”. The phrase dates to the 1930s, and originally referred to horse-racing When there was a predetermined winner in a horse race, jockeys would hold their horses and shoo the winner in – drive them in. Although the expression comes from corrupt horse races, today it doesn’t carry any stigma of cheating.
PARIS: Fine, I’ll go to a payphone. Do you have payphones in this town or are you still using a town crier?
A town crier is a public official who makes pronouncements as required. Prior to widespread literacy, town criers were the means of communication with the people of the town since many people could not read or write. Proclamations, local bylaws, market days, and advertisements were all proclaimed by a crier.
There have been town criers in North America ever since Europeans came to the continent, and they were used in Connecticut in the 17th century. In some places, town criers persisted into the 20th century, and Provincetown in Massachusetts still has one. I’m almost surprised Taylor hasn’t organised a town crier for Stars Hollow, to give it an olde worlde feel. (It would presumably be Kirk).
GRAN: I believe a woman marries for life. If, after your husband is gone, you desperately desire some sort of permanent attachment, add an addition onto the house – a library or a solarium. I have a library and a solarium … However, in spite of all this, I found myself getting lonely. And I don’t care for being lonely, it’s quite annoying. So many years ago, I met a man, and he became my companion. Tonight, both he and I were both publicly humiliated and our relationship altered forever.
A solarium is a sun room, conservatory, patio room, sun porch, or winter garden. The word is Latin for “place of sunlight”, and a solarium is a room which allows the sunshine to enter. A solarium typically offers scenic views as well as a sunny spot, and features glass walls and a glass ceiling.
Trix explains to Emily that although she doesn’t believe in remarriage after the death of a spouse, seeing it as “dishonouring” the late spouse’s memory, she has been in a long-term relationship with someone for affection and companionship.
Trix lived in London for years after her husband died, and has only just moved back to Hartford. So did she meet this man in London, or did they see each other only on brief, infrequent visits to each other’s countries? Or did he follow her back to Hartford so they could continue their relationship, or did she follow him – is he the real reason she moved back?
We never learn anything more about Trix’s boyfriend. Is he married, for example? Has he ever pushed for a more permanent arrangement?
DAVE: Is abi-death a word?
Dave is trying to pronounce the word abideth (said ah-BY-deth), an archaic form of the word abides. The fourth stanza of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” begins:
That Word above all earthly powers
no thanks to them abideth
BRIAN: I thought there was gonna be coffee, too.
ZACH: Dude, can you chill out about your freaking elevenses ’til we get this song straightened out?
Informal British for a short break for light refreshments, served in the late morning, around 11 am. Known in other parts of the world as morning tea, coffee break, or morning snack. Popular British children’s books such as Winnie-the-Pooh and Paddington Bear have made the word reasonably well known.
ZACH: [sings] “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” Dude, what’s a bulwark? … It says, a bulwark never failing.
BRIAN: I think it’s a wall.
A bulwark is a defensive wall built as a fortification to protect a castle, town or city, so Brian is basically correct.
EMILY: Richard, perhaps you could get that while I have another bath sheet versus bath towel debate with your mother.
Bath sheets are simply large towels – large enough that you can wrap them around your torso or waist after your bath or shower. They are efficient for drying as they can soak up more water, and are seen as the luxury option. However, some people find them too heavy and cumbersome (and take a long time to dry out). It is unclear whether Trix wants a bath sheet rather than a bath towel, or the other way around.
EMILY: There was something with a big rig. Oh, those things, they scare the life out of me. And apparently, all the men who drive them are hopped up on bennies and goofballs.
Big rig, informal English for a large truck, an 18-wheeler – otherwise known as a semi-trailer truck, a semi-trailer, a semi-truck, or just a semi.
Bennies, slang for the drug Benzedrine, an amphetamine used recreationally since the 1920s.
Goofballs, slang for tranquilisers or sleeping pills, used as a recreational drug. Note that you can’t really get “hopped up” on sleeping pills, and taking them alongside amphetamines seems counterproductive, suggesting that Emily’s knowledge of the drug scene is limited. I think this is her attempt to seem cool and hip in front of Jess.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 