Лучшее из «Саги о Форсайтах» / The Best of The Forsyte Saga. Джон Голсуорси
Women’s Property Act – from 1882 it granted married women the right to control their own property.
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to have gone to the dogs – to go to the dogs = to be broke, to go to hell.
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underwriter – a member of insurance union.
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bombazine – fabric made of silk and wool.
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vieux jeu – out of date (French).
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cut-away coat – a coat whith its skirts cut off in the front.
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William Morris (1834–1896) – a textile designer, artist and socialist, representative of the so-called Pre-Raphaelite group.
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Marlborough days – the annual street festival held on the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
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put her oar in – an idiom, meaning “giving one’s opinion, even unasked for”.
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be behind-hand – in debt.
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daverdy – dialectal for “dowdy”: unkept, faded.
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‘La Donna mobile’ – from Guiseppe Verdi’s “Rigoletto”.
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the Indian Civil – Indian Civil Service, administrative elite, composed of officers recruited by competitive examination (Government of India Act of 1858).
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swing a cat – an idiom “no room to swing a cat” means an awkwardly small space. They assume that “a cat” here is a whip used to punish sailors.
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‘R.S.V.P.’ — Répondez s’il vous plaît. – Answer please (if you would come). (French).
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opoponax – sweet myrrh.
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welshed – to welsh = to cheat, not to pay the debt.
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Taglioni – Marie Taglioni (1804–1884) was a prominent Italian ballet dancer.
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pooty – pretty.
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long-headed – shrewd, wise.
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‘Down-by-the-starn’ – undertaker’s, funeral office.
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to buttonhole – to detain in conversation.
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in toto – completely, entirely (Latin).
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sociable – an open four-wheeled carriage with two double seats facing each other.
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Victoria – an elegant French carriage (a phaeton) that had one forward-facing seat for two passengers.
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brougham – a carriage, had an enclosed body with two doors and it sat two.
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dawgs – slang, meaning “men,” “buddies,” “dudes” etc.
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knicknack – a dainty little trinket or ornament.
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Bart. – a traditional abbreviation from baronet, the holder of hereditary title.
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infra dig – from infra dignitatem (Latin) – humiliating.
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wallflowers – girls without partners to a dance.
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when the shoe pinched – from the proverb “Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches,” meaning “it’s hard to know how much someone else is suffering”.
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Baedeker – German publishing house, pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides.