Chapters (28)
girdle and creamed crud—These are the Scots dialect versions of (respectively) “griddle” and “creamed curd.” You would have to ask someone Scottish why this is.
toe gunge (from Claire’s shopping list)—“Gunge” is American slang from the 1960s referring to any disagreeable but ill-defined substance; Claire would know it.
can of ale—Before there were aluminum beer cans, there were small cans (also called “cannikins”) made (usually) of tin. These were not disposable, however.
Words, Words, Words …
imminent versus immanent—Similar, but not the same:
“imminent” means—“about to happen.”
“immanent” means—“existing or operating within; inherent.”
metanoia—“A transformative change of heart,” particularly a spiritual shift or conversion.
reducing a dislocation or fracture—The proper medical term for putting a dislocated joint or a broken bone back in place.
Helpful People and Good Friends Whose Names I Stole
Stephen Moore—Office manager of the Outlander production offices, and a Most Capable Gentleman he is, too!
Gillebride MacIllemhaoil (translated into English spelling as “MacMillan” for convenience)—Gillebride is the talented musician/singer who played Gwyllym the Bard in season 1 (episode 3) of the Outlander TV show and generously allowed me to use him as a bear-hunter and one of Jamie’s valued tenants.
Chris Humphreys (aka C. C. Humphreys)—Chris is a wonderful historical novelist and a good friend of mine. If you’re looking for something to read after Bees, I’d advise checking him out.
Carmina Gadelica and Gaelic/Gàidhlig in This Book
Most of the Gaelic (and many of the French) expressions in this book were provided with the kind assistance of Catherine MacGregor, Ph.D.
Translated Gaelic verse forms were taken (with permission from the Carmina Gadelica Society) from the Carmina Gadelica, a compilation of oral “hymns, prayers and incantations” from the Highlands and Isles of Scotland, made in the early nineteenth century by the Reverend Alexander Carmichael. (Some editions of the Carmina Gadelica are available online, if you’d like to explore further.)
Newspapers
Newspapers of the period were printed by individuals, and their names reflected the political sympathies, ideological principles, and personalities of their proprietors, as they do today.
The Impartial Intelligencer was a real newspaper, published in North Carolina during the 1770s. Lest anyone think that Fergus and Marsali’s L’Oignon is a fanciful improbability, I mean … amid a plethora of the more staid “centinals” [sic], “gazettes,” “journals,” and “advertisers,” we also find in eighteenth-century North Carolina: The Herald of Freedom; The Post-Angel, or Universal Entertainment; The North Carolina Minerva, or Anti-Jacobin (NB: the “Anti-Jacobin” was evidently added in 1803, so is not technically an eighteenth-century paper, but still).
Sports
Golf and Golf Balls
Golf has been played in the British Isles since the fifteenth century, and therefore golf balls are quite familiar to William (section 3).
“enough spin on the question as to take the skin off Percy’s hand if he tried to catch it”—This is a reference to cricket, not baseball.