1. The title of the story: It is humorous and well chosen. It has two meanings. When “fallacy” is taken in its ordinary sense, the title means: “there is a deceptive or delusive quality about love.” When taken as a specific term in logic the title means: “love cannot be deduced from a set of given premises.”
2. There follows…frontier: metaphor. Comparing the limitation set by Lamb to a frontier. The informal essay that follows here is freer than the one Charles Lamb wrote.
3. Limp…appropriate: It would perhaps be more correct to call this essay a limp, flaccid or a spongy essay.
Limp: drooping, lacking firmness
Flaccid: soft, flabby, hanging in loose folds
Spongy: like a sponge; soft and porous.
4. Vague…category: inversion to emphasize “vague”
5. logic, far from…and trauma: metaphor and hyperbole. It is a metaphor comparing logic to a living human being. It is a hyperbole because it exaggerates for the sake of effect. Logic is not at all a dry, learned branch of learning. It is like l living human being, full of beauty, passion and painful emotional shocks.
Far from: not at all
Discipline: a branch of knowledge or learning
Trauma: a term in psychiatry meaning a painful emotional experience or shock, often producing a lasting psychic effect.
6. My brain…scalpel: simile, comparing his brain to three different things; also hyperbole, exaggerating for effect.
Dynamo: an earlier form for generator, a machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Chemist’s scales: such scales are more precise and accurate for they have to weigh small quantities of power or other medicine.
Scalpel: a surgeon’s sharp knife used in operations
7. It is not often… a giant intellect: hyperbole for effect
Giant intellect: great mend or intelligence
8. same age…ox: ellipsis. He is of the same age and has the same background but he is dumb as an ox.
Dumb as an ox: simile, as stupid as an ox. Very stupid
Dumb: stupid; moronic; unintelligent
9. Fads…reason: Fads, in my opinion, show a complete lack of reason.
Submit: to offer as an opinion; suggest, propose
Very negation: complete lack
10. To be swept up in… acme of mindlessness: Notice the grammar construction used here. The long infinitive subject is first stated followed by a dash and thin a pronoun “this:” is used to represent it in the sentence that follows
To be swept up in: to be carried away by; to follow enthusiastically
Craze: something that is currently the fashion: fad
Acme of mindlessness: the height of stupidity; the greatest lack of intelligence
11. Don’t you…in the swim: Don’t you want to follow the current fashion? Don’t you want to be doing what everyone else is doing?
In the swim: conforming to the current fashions, or active in the main current of affairs
12. I wanted Polly…cerebral reason: I wanted Polly for a cleverly thought out and an entirely intellectual reason
Cerebral: conceived by the intellect rather than the emotion
13. She was not …lack: She would become beautiful enough after some time
Pin-up: designating a girl whose sexual attractiveness makes her a subject for the kind of pictures often pinned up on walls
Proportions: lines, shape of the body
Supply the lack: supply what is wanting
14. I think;…kid: I think she’s a nice girl
Keen: good, fine, excellent, etc.: a general term of approval
Kid: a young person
15. We both have…dates: We both go out with other friends
Date: a person of the opposite sex with whom one has a social engagement
16. In other words…would be open: metaphor. If you’re no-longer involved with her others would be free to compete for her friendship
Out of the picture: no9t considered as involved in a situation
Field: an area where games or athletic events are held
Open: free to take part or compete in
17. It’s just been… that’s all: A final reason that eases Petey’s conscience. We occasionally went out just for a bit of fun or pleasure, that’s all
Laughs: mere diversion or pleasure
Casual kick: an occasional pleasure
18. But then I got to…and fork: The narrator recapitulates Polly’s good points or those qualities which made the narrator choose Polly as his future wife.
Got to: began to; l started to
Physical charms: beautiful face and figure
Way she entered a room: carriage and poise of bearing
Way she handled a knife and fork: refined table manners
19. You would go far…agreeable: You would achieve much success if you could find another girl who was so agreeable. It isn’t easy to find a girl so agreeable
Go far: to accomplish much; achieve much success
20. Admittedly…hope: One must admit the outcome does not look very hopeful
Admittedly: by admission or general agreement; confessedly
Prospect: something hoped for or expected; anticipated outcome
Fraught: filled, charged, or loaded
21. It just …out: I was excited and filled with pleasure by the movie.
Knock out: to elicit enthusiasm or an emotional response, especially deep sympathy or laughter
22. I watched her…in concentration: I watched her as she thought very hard.
Knit the brow: to draw the brows together
Cream: soft, white color
23. At first… all was bright: The comparison is kept up and developed through th rest of the paragraph. At first it was very hard work but finally he saw the light at the end of the tunnel and know he had succeeded in digging his way through. After a lot of hard work he managed to make Polly think logically. When he went out at the other end of the tunnel he found the sun shining brightly. Everything looked bright and happy.
24. She was a fit…well-heeled children: Here the narrator describes the role. Which he thinks, a wife should play. First she should be a proper hostess of a rich man who owns many mansions. In other words she should be good at entertaining his rich friends and clients and thus further his career. Second, she should be a good mother and properly look after his rich and prosperous children
25. The time had come…to romantic: The time had come to change our relationship from that of a teacher and student to that of lovers
Academic: scholastic; educational; of students, teachers
Romantic: of lovemaking or courting
26. You don’t …it’s good: After tasting one slice of a cake you know whether the whole cake is good or not. This statement is used very often in English to express the idea that one can know the whole by just tasting, experiencing or observing a part of something
27. I will wander…hulk: hyperbole. Worn, wearied and dragging my feet, I’ll roam disconsolately all over the world a hollow-eyed wreck
Wander: roam, go about aimlessly
Shambling: walking in a lazy or clumsy manner, barely lifting the feet
Hollow-eye: having deep-set eyes or dark areas under the eyes, as from sickness, mental suffering or fatigue
Hulk: an abandoned wreck or shell
28. At all costs…cool: I tried, by every means possible. To keep calm
At all costs: regardless of the cost or difficulty involved; by any means required
To keep cool: to keep calm; not to get excited
29. That did it: That was the final straw. That made me lose my patience. That made me lose my self-control.
This idiomatic phrase is used very often in English and the meaning depends largely on the context in which it is used. “That” refers to what has gone before and “it” refers to the result or consequence brought about by “that”. Here “that” refers to Polly’s last answer and “it” to his loss of temper, “bellowing like a bull”
30. Look at me…coming from: antithesis. “Brilliant, intellectual and assured” are balanced against “knothead, jitterbug and never know where his next meal is coming from.
Assured future: a safe and secure future
Knothead: an incompetent or stupid person
Jitterbug: a jittery, emotionally unstable person
Guy: any person or fellow