[Vwoolf] For Agatha Christie fans

[Jeremy Hawthorn]

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 /hold/ your arm against the small of the back; you cannot 
/rest/ it there.

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 /Mrs Dalloway/? 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.

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.

Jeremy H



On 21.04.2020 09:57, Sarah M. Hall via Vwoolf wrote:
> 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.
>
> 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, more Cubist images, and Poirot walking 
> away 'with his [left] arm resting on the boss of his back'. Superlative.
>
> Not an 'authoritative answer', but if Poirot does it, that's good 
> enough for me.
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, 21 April 2020, 08:33:29 BST, Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf 
> <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
>
> “Bowley who liked young people and walked down Piccadilly with his 
> right arm resting on the boss of his back.” (“Jacob’s Room”, ch. xiii)
> What does “boss” mean here?  Can anyone provide an authoritative answer?

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