a tubby, double-sided bitch of a letter that didn't stand for anything he knew: The Cyrillic letter F looks like this: Ф; the word being spelt out is “Professor”. (the translator’s note)
19
Now you’re talking, this is it – Вот это да, это я понимаю
20
They had their way after all – Все-таки отделали
21
From Seville to Granada… in the quiet twilight of the nights: The opening lines of the romance Don Juan's Serenade by Tchaikovsky, based on the poem by Alexei Tolstoy. (the translator’s note)
22
when you get the runs – когда у тебя живот схватит
23
got his bearings – собрался
24
Parole d’honneur – (фр.) Честное слово
25
Rue de la Paix – Рю де ла Пэ (улица в центре Парижа)
26
Zhirkost – «Жиркость» (советское учреждение по изготовлению косметических средств)
27
Madame – (фр.) госпожа, сударыня
28
Isadora Duncan: A pioneering and extravagant figure in modern dance, Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) had strong connections with the USSR, moving to Russia for a short period in 1922, when she married Soviet poet Sergei Yesenin (1895–1925). (the translator’s note)
29
The Gardens of Semiramide: Semiramide was a legendary Assyrian queen, also known as Semiramis II, for whom the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were supposedly built. (the translator’s note)
30
The newly blessed: The Chairman of the People’s Commissars, Alexei Rykov (1881–1938), blessed the introduction of a new vodka with a lower alcoholic content. (the translator’s note)
31
proof – пруф (единица измерения крепости спиртных напитков, равняется приблизительно ½ градуса); «sixty proof» = 30 градусов, «eighty proof» = 40 градусов
32
hors d’oeuvres – (фр.) закуски
33
zakuski for vodka: Russians accompany vodka with zakuski, appetizers. The Slavyansky Bazaar, a celebrated Moscow restaurant (and the scene of Stiva Oblonsky’s sumptuous banquet in Anna Karenina), was known for a special appetizer: roasted bone marrow served in toasted ryebread cups. (the translator’s note)
