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care-grinder

treadmill
chive, to

to shout
marinated, to be

transported; from the salt pickling herrings undergo in Cornwall
poll up, to

to live with a member of the opposite sex in a state of unmarried impropriety
liver-faced

adj. — mean, cowardly
chatty

adj. — infested with lice
beef-headed

adj.— stupid
cupboard-headed

an expression designating one whose head is both wooden and hollow
culver-headed

adj. — weak and stupid
fiddle-faced

adj. — applied to those with wizened countenances
glumpish

adj. — of a stubborn, sulky temper (our hero certainly fits the bill here!)
squabby

adj. — fat, short and thick
dab tros

bad sort (back slang)
in half-mourning, to be

to have sustained a black eye, or “mouse”, in the course of tussle
fadge, it won’t

expression meaning “it just won’t do”, or “it just won’t work”
Jerry go Nimbles

diarrhoea
stun, to

to astonish
streak, to

to abscond
pick up one’s sticks and cut, to

to collect one’s possessions and leave an establishment without notice; to do a “moonlight flit”
bolt, to

to run away, escape
a speel on the drum, to take

to take a trip to the country
top of Rome

home (rhyming slang)
Shitten Saturday

corruption of “Shut-in Saturday”; the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday
worm

policeman
pin, to

to arrest, to apprehend
scaly

adj. — unpleasant, disgusting
shaver

young person
Tom and Jerry, a

a drinking shop
star the glaze, to

to break the window or show-glass of a jeweller or other tradesman, and take any valuable articles and run away. Sometimes the glass is cut with a diamond, and a strip of leather fastened to the piece of glass cut out to keep it from falling in and making a noise. Another plan is to cut the sash
go over the stile, to

to go for trial (rhyming slang)
Spike Park

the Queen’s Bench prison
topped, to be

to be executed. Which the brute richly deserved

FIREWORKS:
NINE PROFANE PIECES, 1974
    A Souvenir of Japan
    The Executioner’s Beautiful Daughter
    The Loves of Lady Purple
    The Smile of Winter
    Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest
    Flesh and the Mirror
    Master
    Reflections
    Elegy for a Freelance

A Souvenir of Japan
    When I went outside to see if he was coming home, some children dressed ready for bed in cotton nightgowns were playing with sparklers in the vacant lot on the corner. When the sparks fell down in beards of stars, the smiling children cooed softly. Their pleasure was very pure because it was so restrained. An old woman said: “And so they pestered their father until he bought them fireworks.” In this language, fireworks are called hannabi, which means “flower fire”. All through summer, every evening, you can see all kinds of fireworks, from the humblest to the most elaborate, and once we rode the train out of Shinjuku for an hour to watch one of the public displays which are held over rivers so that the dark water multiplies the reflections.
    By the time we arrived at our destination, night had already fallen. We were in the suburbs. Many families were on their way to enjoy the fireworks. Their mothers had scrubbed and dressed up the smallest children to celebrate the treat. The little girls were especially immaculate in pink and white cotton kimonos tied with fluffy sashes like swatches of candy floss. Their hair had been most beautifully brushed, arranged in sleek, twin bunches and decorated with twists of gold and silver thread. These children were all on their best behaviour because they were staying up late and held their parents’ hands with a charming propriety. We followed the family parties until we came to some fields by the river and saw, high in the air, fireworks already opening out like variegated parasols. They were visible from far away and as we took the path that led through the fields towards their source they seemed to occupy more and more of the sky.
    Along the path were stalls where shirtless cooks with sweatbands round their heads roasted corncobs and