the East – here: the Eastern states of the USA
the Civil War – the American Civil War of 1861–1865 between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America (11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860)
New Haven – Americans associate New Haven with Yale University – a private university in New Haven, Connecticut; the third oldest university in the United States, founded in 1701, it was named for Elihu Yale, a British philanthropist.
Teutonic = Germanic; Teutonic peoples were peoples of the Germanic group of the Indo-European family.
the Great War – World War I of 1914—1918
West Egg village – a residential area of Long Island
Midas – in Greco-Roman legend, a foolish and greedy king of Phrygia who wished everything he touched turn into gold
Morgan – John Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), a prominent American financier and industrialist
Maecenas – Gaius Maecenas (70 BC—8 BC), a Roman diplomat, statesman and patron of Virgil and Horace, the most famous ancient Roman poets
Long Island Sound – the arm of the Atlantic Ocean between the states of New York and Connecticut in the north and Long Island in the south; Long Island is an island in the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast of New York state, parallel to the shore of Connecticut.
the egg in the Columbus story – the egg crushed flat at one end; here: the unusual shape of the formation of land.
yards – yard is a unit of length equal to 0.9144 metre
Hotel de Ville = city hall (French)
Normandy – a historic region in northern France with its own culture, and a long and rich history
acres – acre is a unit of land measurement equal to 4.047 square metres
East Egg – an area of Long Island
Lake Forest – a city in Lake county in northeastern Illinois, first settled in 1835
Georgian Colonial (style) – various styles in architecture and decorative arts in 1714–1830, between George I and the death of George IV, kings of Great Britain
mile – unit of distance equal to 1.609 km
claret – red Bordeaux wine from the region of the city of Bordeaux, known since Roman times
Nordics, the Nordic race – Northern European peoples of Scandinavia, Finland and Iceland; a Northern physical type is blond, tall, bony.
the Cunard or White Star Line – the Cunard White Star Line Ltd., the first regular Atlantic steamship line between England and North America, founded by Sir Samuel Cunard (1787–1865)
feet – pl. from foot – unit of length equal to 30.48 cm
the Saturday Evening Post – American weekly journal published in Philadelphia from 1821 till 1969
rotogravure – a kind of gravure printed by means of transferring liquid ink from depressions in the printing plate to the paper
Asheville – a city in the Blue Ridge Mountains in west-central Carolina, first settled in 1794
Hot Springs – a city and spa resort in central Arkansas
Palm Beach – a resort town in southeastern Florida
Louisville – the largest city of Kentucky, first settled in 1773
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg – the billboard with the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, an optometrist, erected to promote his business; in the novel, the empty eyes on the billboard became the symbol of the post-war America.
the Fourth of July – Independence Day, the United States national holiday
muslin – cotton fabric, first made in the city of Mosul in what is now Iraq
Town Tattle – the name of a newspaper
John D. Rockefeller (1839—1937) – a prominent American industrialist and philanthropist
the West Hundreds – the hundredth streets in the west of New York City
Versailles – Palace of Versailles, the former French royal residence, built in 1631–1634 in the city of Versailles in northern France, 16 km west-southwest of Paris
Simon Called Peter – the name of the popular novel by Robert Keable (1887–1927) of the early 1920s; the title is an allusion to Saint Peter the Apostle whose original name was Simon.
Kaiser Wilhelm – Wilhelm II (1859–1941), German emperor and King of Prussia till the end of World War I (1918)
Monte Carlo – a resort on the French Riviera in Monaco, known for its casino opened in 1861
Marseilles – a city in southern France and one of the major ports on the Mediterranean Sea
Brook’n Bridge – Brooklyn Bridge that connects Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, to Manhattan
Tribune – here: the ‘New York Herald Tribune,’ an American daily newspaper
Castile – a historic region in central Spain
the Follies – a popular variety show
Gothic – a style in architecture, painting and sculpture in Western and Central Europe from the 12th century to the end of the 16th century
Stoddard Lectures – popular illustrated lectures about various countries by John L. Stoddard (1850–1931)
Belasco – David Belasco (1853–1931), American playwright, theatrical producer and innovator
banjoes – banjo is a stringed musical instrument of African origin
Carnegie Hall – a historic concert hall in New York City, opened in 1891, named for Andrew Carnegie, its founder and first owner
Jersey City – a city in northeastern New Jersey, located on a peninsula between the Hudson and the Hackensack rivers opposite Manhattan Island
Von Hindenburg – Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), German field marshal during World War I and then, in 1925–1934, the second president of Germany (of the so called Weimar Republic)
Maine – the US state in the northeast, one of the original New England states
American Legion – organization of United States war veterans, founded in 1919
Bois de Boulogne – a large park on the Seine River west of Paris, founded in 1852
the Argonne Forest – the place of final battles on the Western front in eastern France during World War I
Lewis guns – machine guns widely used during World War I, invented by Isaac Newton Lewis (1859–1931)
Montenegro – one of the Balkan states on the Adriatic Sea
Trinity Quad – here: Trinity College, founded in 1554
the Grand Canal – the main waterway of Venice
Astoria – a commercial, industrial and residential area on Long Island
the Queensboro Bridge – the bridge over the East River in New York City
Blackwell’s Island – the former name of Roosevelt Island on the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens in New York City
highballs – highball is a cocktail of whisky mixed with soda and ice, served in a tall glass
the World’s Series – baseball championship of the two professional leagues: the American League and the National League; first held in 1903.
Sauterne – natural sweet wine from the district of Sauterne in France
the South Seas – a part of the Pacific Ocean where the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Hawaii, Samoa and the Gilbert Islands are located
Santa Barbara – a city on the Pacific Coast in southwestern California, founded in 1602 and named for the patron saint of mariners
Ventura – a city on the Pacific Coast in southern California, founded in 1782
Cannes – a resort city on the French Riviera in southeastern France
Deauville – a fashionable resort in northern France
Coney Island – an amusement area in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City
Clay – Henry Clay (1777–1852), American statesman noted for his system of economic stability and prosperity
Castle Rackrent – a historical novel by Maria Edgeworth (1767–1849), Anglo-Irish writer
Kant – Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), German philosopher, the author of many works on the theory of knowledge, ethics and aesthetics, one of the greatest philosophers of all time
Marie Antoinette (1755—1793) – queen of France, wife of Louis XVI of France; she was imprisoned and executed during the French Revolution.
Restoration – Bourbon Restoration of 1814–1830 when the Bourbon monarchs were restored to the throne
Chartreuse – liqueur made from more than 130 plants by the monks of La Grande Chartreuse in France
pompadour – a man’s hairstyle in which hair is combed back without a parting (US)
Lake Superior – the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America, located on the US-Canadian border
Platonic conception – here: idealistic conception; Plato (428 BC—328 BC) was one of the greatest ancient Greek philosophers, the student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle.
Lutheran – from Lutheranism, one of the five main branches of Protestantism (the branch of Western Christianity)
College of St. Olaf’s = St. Olaf College, a private higher educational institution in southeastern Minnesota, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; it was founded in 1874 by Norwegian immigrants, and named for Saint Olaf, the patron saint of Norway.
seventy-five – here: 1875
Madame de Maintenon (1635—1719) – the second wife and untitled queen of Louis XIV of France, noted for her piety and philanthropy
the West Indies – a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea from the ocean
Trimalchio – a fictional character, a very rich and vulgar person from ‘The Satyricon’ by Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Roman author
quart – measure of liquid capacity equal to 1.13 litre in Britain, and 0.94 litre in the USA
mint julep – a drink of whisky mixed with water, sugar, mint and ice
Mendelssohn – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), German composer, conductor and pianist of the early Romantic period
Memphis – a city in southwestern Tennessee on the border with Arkansas and Mississippi
Kapiolani – a resort area in Honolulu, the capital and the main port of Hawaii
Atlantic City – a resort city on the Atlantic coast in southeastern New Jersey
Montreal – a city in southeastern Canada, the capital of Quebec province
‘Beale Street Blues’ – a song by W. C. Handy (1873–1958), Afro-American composer who integrated blues into ragtime music
Hempstead – a town in the west-central part of Long Island in New York state
Southampton – a town along the shore of eastern Long Island in southeastern New York state
coroner – an official who investigates the cases of violent or suspicious death
James J. Hill (1838—1916) – America financier and founder of Great Northern Railway Company (1890)
Hopalong Cassidy – a fictional cowboy created by Clarence E. Mulford (1883–1917), who later appeared in a number of American TV series, westerns and radio programs
‘Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on’ – a line from the poem ‘Rain’ by Edward Thomas (1878–1917), English writer, critic, essayist and poet
the Ohio – the major river of the east-central United States, one of the tributaries of the Mississippi River
El Greco – byname of Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541–1614), Spanish painter, sculptor and architect of Greek origin, one of the greatest dramatic painters of all time
fêtes = holiday, festival (French); fun.
the French Riviera – the Mediterranean coast between Cannes in France and the border with Italy
Hôtel des Étrangers = Hotel for Foreigners (French)
the Maures – mountains in southeastern France, the part of the Maritime Alps that separate the Riviera from Provence
Provençal France – Provence, a historical and cultural region in southeastern France
French windows – large windows serving as windows and doors opening to the balcony or a garden
Buick – a car of the Buick line, named for David Buick (1854–1929), the first American automobile manufacturer and the founder of the Buick Manufacturing Company
Victorian England – England in 1837–1901 at the times of Queen Victoria (1819–1901)
monocle – a single eyeglass held by the muscles around the eye
a pair of tights – a man’s bathing-suit of the first decades of the 20th century
flotte = fleet (French)
Golfe Juan – a town on the French Riviera 7 km from Cannes
peignoir – a woman’s light dressing gown
Latin young man – an Italian, French or Spanish young man
Sorrento – a town in southern Italy
Antheil – George Antheil (1900–1959), American composer, the author of ultramodern music
Joyce – James Joyce (1882–1941), Irish novelist who introduced new literary methods into his works
Ulysses – the best known novel by James Joyce, first published in 1922