Questions About Keep the Aspidistra Flying

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Answered Questions (4)

What is the meaning of "Vicisti,O aspidistra!"?

Peter "Vicisti" is from the Latin word meaning "to conquer". In the vernacular, Comstock is saying something like "You win, aspidistra!" and admitting that …more"Vicisti" is from the Latin word meaning "to conquer". In the vernacular, Comstock is saying something like "You win, aspidistra!" and admitting that he's beaten.(less)

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Hello, recently i have been reading "keep the aspidistra flying" and there is such sentence in chapter 3: "which the small-bearded sons of Coromandel have ferried to her across the wine-dark sea." Could you please explain to me what does the author mean?

Jay He's saying his aunt drank tea imported from Coromandel, India and he's using a mock-elevated homeric style.…moreHe's saying his aunt drank tea imported from Coromandel, India and he's using a mock-elevated homeric style.(less)

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What is the joke about the title "Mice"? Here's the quote: Mice, by Gordon Comstock; a sneaky little foolscap octavo, price three and sixpence but now reduced to a bob. Of the thirteen B.F.s who had reviewed it (and The Times Lit. Supp. had declared that it showed 'exceptional promise') not one had seen the none too subtle joke of that title.

Michael I asked the same question on the literature stackexchange, and got a satisfactory answer:

https://literature.stackexchange.com/...…moreI asked the same question on the literature stackexchange, and got a satisfactory answer:

https://literature.stackexchange.com/...(less)

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Joaquin

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Unanswered Questions (1)

What is a "red lead firm"? From context, it appears to mean a well-established and maybe stuffy firm. Here's the context: "And then Gordon left school, and fat interfering Uncle Walter, who had business connexions in a small way, came forward and said that a friend of a friend of his could get Gordon ever such a 'good' job in the accounts department of a red lead firm."

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