Footnotes to the TV series
RORY: I don’t think I’ll have the prom bids ready for the supplemental student council meeting this week … They need a little more time to get the details together, so that leaves a little hole in our agenda.
Prom bids are, as far as I can work out, just another name for tickets to the school prom, a formal dance held at the end of the academic year.
RORY: What’s good are the yams.
LORELAI: Definitely. Got some more marshmallows?
Sweet potatoes are often called “yams” in North America. Candied sweet potatoes are a side dish sweetened with brown sugar, marshmallows, maple syrup, molasses, orange juice, candied chestnuts, or other sweet ingredients. It is often served at Thanksgiving.
LORELAI: So you pulled the Thanksgiving shift, huh?
DEAN: Yeah, I get time and a half.
When doing overtime, time and a half means that the employee will be receiving an extra 50% of their income on top of their usual pay. It is common when working hours outside the usual forty-hour week, such as holidays.
LORELAI: We got jammed. Shanghaied by my mother and what with the other things we have going . . . well, too many commitments, not enough us.
Jammed: I think Lorelai means “jammed” as in a traffic jam or a logjam – stuck, and with so many things on that they have no room to move. Please correct me if you think this is wrong!
Shanghaied [pictured]: Also known as “crimping”. The practice of kidnapping people to serve as sailors by coercive techniques such as trickery, intimidation, or violence. The name probably came about because Shanghai was a common destination for ships with abducted crews. The practice flourished in the mid-19th century, in port cities such as Liverpool in the UK, and San Francisco in the US. Although there were many attempts to crack down on it, only the widespread use of steam vessels instead of sailing ships rendered the practice unnecessary, as steamships don’t require such a large crew. Once it was made a federal crime in 1915 the practice was entirely stamped out.
[Lorelai and Rory are walking down the sidewalk]
RORY: So she coldcocked you, huh?
To be coldcocked is American slang meaning to be struck so forcefully that you are knocked unconscious. It appears to date to the early 20th century, but the origin is not known. The “cold” part is obviously from being knocked out cold, but no one can agree on the “cock” part.
The sign says it is the Autumn Festival again, which is supposedly the first weekend in November, but possibly continues right through until Thanksgiving.
RORY: So, changing the subject . . .
PARIS: Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, literally “praise ye Yahweh!” in Hebrew (often translated as “praise the Lord”), an interjection used as an expression of gratitude and adoration in Jewish and Christian prayers. In modern English, often used as an expression of joy or relief.
TEACHER: The multi-layered membrane systems of the cytoplasm are the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and the Golgi body. Now, the smooth endoplasmic reticulum is concerned with the manufacture of lipid molecules.
Cytoplasm: all of the material within a cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus.
Endoplasmic reticulum: the transportation system of the cell, and has many other important functions. It is made up of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
Golgi body (or Golgi apparatus): a sub-unit of most cells, particularly important in processing proteins.
Lipid: a broad group of molecules which includes fats, fatty acids, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins (such as A, D, E, and K).
LORELAI: Is [Sookie] melting down?
MICHEL: Like butter on a skillet.
In American English, a skillet is a frying pan.
RICHARD: You shouldn’t tell them this. They’ll think I was some kind of lothario.
Lothario, previously discussed.
JESS: Your timing is perfect, by the way. Next time I’ll hang a sock on the door.
Hanging a sock on the (apartment or bedroom) door handle is a common sign used by room mates – especially in college – to warn each other that they have a date over.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 