Line 37: "Spitty as a pricksure they go scruffling down the Bulling Roude beyond the iron realings, snurchin' up each other's badgered caps an' grubbin' at each other's bawls wit' wilde hellarity, obliffeyus to her sprying from the foolyage in wishtful, privet larchery."
Non-Lucy-Lips Version: "Pretty as a picture they go scuffling down the Billing Road beyond the iron railings, snatching up each other's battered caps and grabbing at each other's balls with wild hilarity, oblivious to her spying from the foliage in lustful, private lechery."
"Spitty as a pricksure"
Ejaculation/orgasm. Lucia is working herself up into a foamy soup of pleasure. "Pricksure" is a reference to "cocksure," "arrogant or confident." Probably more a description of the schoolboys she's lusting after than Lucia herself.
"scruffling"
Scuffling with an "r" thrown in to show that they're scruffy and scuffling. This adds to the image that they're wild, school having yet to actually tame them.
"Bulling Roude"
Saint Andrew's Hospital and the boys grammar school were/are on Billings Road in Northampton. Lucia sees them as bulls, more rough, wild animal imagery. A stampede of boys being as effective in their destruction as a squall of boys. "Roude" is probably simply a combination of "road" and "rude." I probably don't have to explain why teenaged boys might be described as rude.
"beyond the iron realings"
The fence around Saint Andrew's Hospital keeps out the real world. Lucia lives in an unknown state caused by her paranoia and schizophrenia and, probably, her medication.
"snurchin' up"
"Snatching" combined with "urchin." Lucia can't help filling her thought with descriptions of these boys she's eye-fucking.
"badgered caps"
I translated "badgered" as "battered" but it could easily be something else. The badger simply evokes more wild, untamable beasts.
"grubbin'"
Like a wild boar searching for food. We get it, Lucia! These kids are wee wild beasties!
"each other's bawls"
They're playing one of those boyhood games where you smack your friend in the crotch. I never understood those games. How is that a game?! I don't want to be punched there at all! "Bawls" also suggests crying noisily which is what I would do if a friend suddenly punched me in the balls.
"wit' wilde hellarity"
"Wit" is not how I would describe a game where you punch your mate in the testicles. But that's probably the height of their wit which is why Lucia brings it up. "Wilde" is probably a reference to Olivia Wilde because these young boys would totally hit themselves in the balls over her. "Hellarity" reminds the reader that teenaged boys are the worst. It is hell to be among them and their wit and their ball-grabbing.
"obliffeyus"
Yet another reference to the River Liffey but also suggesting her father's Ulysseus. Maybe this is warning the reader that if they're oblivious to Ulysseus, they will not notice the horny woman staring at them from the bushes. What I mean is that the reader won't get a lot of Alan's references.
"sprying"
Lucia is spying on the spry young boys who she would like to pry from the real world and take them with her.
"foolyage"
Lucia is a fool for thinking the spry young boys would want anything to do with her vagina. Well, maybe some of them would. But then they would be the fools! No wait. They'd be gods among their peers, actually.
"wishtful"
Lucia lustfully wishes she could bang these teenagers. What kind of meds do they have her on?! Did Samuel Beckett ever write a play about a young writer trying to learn about art from his master while the master's daughter constantly tries to fuck him. Wasn't this a sitcom on Fox in the late 1980s?
"privet"
Lucia's private thoughts while hiding in a "privet," or bush. Probably also a reference to her lower lady parts, being considered both privates and bushy.
"larchery"
"Lechery" combined with "archery," bringing us back to the Eros and Psyche myth evoked in the previous sentence. Lucia was also described as a "darter" earlier. So here we see her eyes lecherously darting like arrows back and forth between all the various young asses moving past the hospital.
Non-Lucy-Lips Version: "Pretty as a picture they go scuffling down the Billing Road beyond the iron railings, snatching up each other's battered caps and grabbing at each other's balls with wild hilarity, oblivious to her spying from the foliage in lustful, private lechery."
"Spitty as a pricksure"
Ejaculation/orgasm. Lucia is working herself up into a foamy soup of pleasure. "Pricksure" is a reference to "cocksure," "arrogant or confident." Probably more a description of the schoolboys she's lusting after than Lucia herself.
"scruffling"
Scuffling with an "r" thrown in to show that they're scruffy and scuffling. This adds to the image that they're wild, school having yet to actually tame them.
"Bulling Roude"
Saint Andrew's Hospital and the boys grammar school were/are on Billings Road in Northampton. Lucia sees them as bulls, more rough, wild animal imagery. A stampede of boys being as effective in their destruction as a squall of boys. "Roude" is probably simply a combination of "road" and "rude." I probably don't have to explain why teenaged boys might be described as rude.
"beyond the iron realings"
The fence around Saint Andrew's Hospital keeps out the real world. Lucia lives in an unknown state caused by her paranoia and schizophrenia and, probably, her medication.
"snurchin' up"
"Snatching" combined with "urchin." Lucia can't help filling her thought with descriptions of these boys she's eye-fucking.
"badgered caps"
I translated "badgered" as "battered" but it could easily be something else. The badger simply evokes more wild, untamable beasts.
"grubbin'"
Like a wild boar searching for food. We get it, Lucia! These kids are wee wild beasties!
"each other's bawls"
They're playing one of those boyhood games where you smack your friend in the crotch. I never understood those games. How is that a game?! I don't want to be punched there at all! "Bawls" also suggests crying noisily which is what I would do if a friend suddenly punched me in the balls.
"wit' wilde hellarity"
"Wit" is not how I would describe a game where you punch your mate in the testicles. But that's probably the height of their wit which is why Lucia brings it up. "Wilde" is probably a reference to Olivia Wilde because these young boys would totally hit themselves in the balls over her. "Hellarity" reminds the reader that teenaged boys are the worst. It is hell to be among them and their wit and their ball-grabbing.
"obliffeyus"
Yet another reference to the River Liffey but also suggesting her father's Ulysseus. Maybe this is warning the reader that if they're oblivious to Ulysseus, they will not notice the horny woman staring at them from the bushes. What I mean is that the reader won't get a lot of Alan's references.
"sprying"
Lucia is spying on the spry young boys who she would like to pry from the real world and take them with her.
"foolyage"
Lucia is a fool for thinking the spry young boys would want anything to do with her vagina. Well, maybe some of them would. But then they would be the fools! No wait. They'd be gods among their peers, actually.
"wishtful"
Lucia lustfully wishes she could bang these teenagers. What kind of meds do they have her on?! Did Samuel Beckett ever write a play about a young writer trying to learn about art from his master while the master's daughter constantly tries to fuck him. Wasn't this a sitcom on Fox in the late 1980s?
"privet"
Lucia's private thoughts while hiding in a "privet," or bush. Probably also a reference to her lower lady parts, being considered both privates and bushy.
"larchery"
"Lechery" combined with "archery," bringing us back to the Eros and Psyche myth evoked in the previous sentence. Lucia was also described as a "darter" earlier. So here we see her eyes lecherously darting like arrows back and forth between all the various young asses moving past the hospital.
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