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<DIV>A very impressive analysis!</DIV>
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<DIV>Stuart</DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=vwoolf@lists.osu.edu>Jeremy
Hawthorn via Vwoolf</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, April 21, 2020 11:00 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=vwoolf@lists.osu.edu>vwoolf@lists.osu.edu</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vwoolf] For Agatha Christie fans</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<P>This is a puzzle. Sarah H is correct that the only part of one's own back on
which it is restful to hold one's own arm is the small of the back. The problem
with this is that all the definitions of "boss" as related to a part of the
human back that I have found, including the original OED, use words such as
"bump" or "protuberance," and the small of the back is the part furthest in,
rather than sticking out. Moreover you have to <I>hold</I> your arm against the
small of the back; you cannot <I>rest</I> it there.</P>
<P>There is another possibility . . . the buttocks. They definitely protrude,
and it is just about possible to rest one's arm against the top of them. My
instinctive reaction against this is that this might suggest that Woolf is
making use of a euphemism, and there are few less prudish writers that VW. But
there is also Piccadilly . . . Isn't there a reference to the poor girls in
Piccadilly in <I>Mrs Dalloway</I>? The area was certainly associated with
prostitution and sexuality in Woolf's time, and so a half nod in the direction
of the buttocks might not be inappropriate. Why, after all, does Woolf have Mr
Bowley walk down just this London street? And then there is the reference to Mr
Bowley's liking for young people . . . and his indulgence in wicked
gossip.<BR></P>
<P>Bowley lives in The Albany - which provided apartments for bachelors.
In other words, there are various hints in the text suggesting that Mr Bowley is
gay. You don't have to be gay to rest your arm on your buttocks, of course, but
if Woolf was in disguise mode when dealing with this character it might explain
this particular reference. There is in addition an almost total lack of hits for
"the boss of the / his / her back" on Google Books and LiteratureOnline.<BR></P>
<P>Jeremy H<BR></P>
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<DIV class=moz-cite-prefix>On 21.04.2020 09:57, Sarah M. Hall via Vwoolf
wrote:<BR></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr data-setdir="false">I'd say the 'small' of his back (is this just
a UK term?), i.e. near the bottom of the spine, which might be regarded as the
centre of the body. Like a ceiling boss in architecture, except that in most
people there's no protuberance. If you put your arm behind your back at
(approx) a right angle, the small of your back is where it would rest. Any
other position is not restful.</DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr data-setdir="false">This is my favourite opening sequence. A real
modernist work of art, from the Art Deco pendant turning into half a
moustache, fanning out into the Cubist images of Poirot, the train and plane,
with what looks like Battersea Power Station in the background, the tools of
Poirot's trade (magnifying glass and smoking gun), the fan spotlight echoing
the upright fan earlier on, <SPAN><SPAN>more Cubist images, and </SPAN>Poirot
walking away 'with his [left] arm resting on the boss of his back</SPAN>'.
Superlative.</DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr data-setdir="false"><SPAN>Not an 'authoritative answer', but if
Poirot does it, that's good enough for me.</SPAN><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>On Tuesday, 21 April 2020, 08:33:29 BST, Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf <A
class=moz-txt-link-rfc2396E>mailto:vwoolf@lists.osu.edu</A> wrote: </DIV>
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<DIV>“<SPAN>Bowley who liked young people and walked down Piccadilly with his
right arm resting on the boss of his back.</SPAN>” (“Jacob’s Room”, ch.
xiii)</DIV>
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<DIV>What does “boss” mean here? Can anyone provide an authoritative
answer?</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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