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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>
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<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>
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<p>Jeremy H<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 21.04.2020 09:57, Sarah M. Hall via
Vwoolf wrote:<br>
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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>
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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" href="mailto:vwoolf@lists.osu.edu"><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>
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