Friday, 2 August 2024

Van Rijn's Anglic

Mirkheim, XI.

"'...whether it's illegal or well eagle.'" (p. 160)

"'I decree first we snap some schnapps, with a little liter or so of beer in tow and maybe a few herring fillets or so for ballast.'" (p. 161)

"'...news commentators whom I would like to do a hysteria-ectomy on.'" (ibid.)

(If it were in van Rijn's power to do physical harm to news commentators - or to bureaucrats -, he would do nothing of the sort.)

"'He was pretty much the spokesman for the Seven. In fact, I suspect he was the wheelsman.'" (ibid.)

(Pun on "spoke.")

A comment about van Rijn:

"He used alcohol not as a crutch but as a pogo stick." (p. 162)

More from him:

"'...with a hypochondriac needle...'" (ibid.)

"'Make us a four-letter Angular-Saxon language just for [Edward Garver]! Ga-a-a-ah -'" (p. 168)

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree, Old Nick could talk plenty rough, but he was never gratitously (spelling?) cruel.

And I love his malapropisms!

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

I suspect a lot of his Anglic was a put-on.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Ha, it was! All the better to get his opponents underestimating Old Nick!

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Agreed. Put-on and very clever.