peekaboo, cactus, buttons and bows, gal, vamoose, peek-a-boo, buckskin, buckboard

“Some writers are like cacti—every seven years here comes a glorious flower; then there’s another seven years of hibernation. Others can’t work like that; temperamentally they have to be writing.”

—Julian Barnes, The Art of Fiction No. 165, Interviewed by Shusha Guppy in “The Paris Review” no. 157 (Winter 2000):http://bit.ly/1zggtm8

蔡其達
初聽這曲調，不是原曲獻唱，而係電視尚未普及的1960年代，「美國蘋果西打」電視廣告的主題曲，直到近80年代才正式聽聞《Buttons and Bows》（華語譯名為《莫奔跑》）。此曲成於1947年，其後因Bob Hope和 Jane Russell 主演的電影（1948年）而爆紅。不過我的鄉愁還是那個渴求蘋果西打都不易的60年代啊！

Dinah Shore - Buttons And Bows 1948

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Dinah Shore - Buttons And Bows 1948

(Spoken:) A western ranch is just a branch of Nowhere Junction to me.
Give me the city where living's pretty and the gals wear finery.

East is east and west is west
And the wrong one I have chose
Let's go where I'll keep on wearin'
Those frills and flowers and buttons and bows
Rings and things and buttons and bows
Don't bury me in this prairie
Take me where the cement grows
Let's move down to some big town
Where they love a gal by the cut o' her clothes
And I'll stand out
In buttons and bows
I'll love you in buckskin
Or skirts that I've homespun
But I'll love ya' longer, stronger where
Yer friends don't tote a gun
My bones denounce the buckboard bounce
And the cactus hurts my toes
Let's vamoose where gals keep usin'
Those silks and satins and linen that shows
And I'm all yours in buttons and bows
Gimme eastern trimmin' where women are women
In high silk hose and peek-a-boo clothes
And French perfume that rocks the room
And I'm all yours in buttons and bows

 ****

Various Cactaceae

A cactus (plural: cacti, cactuses, or cactus)^[3] is a member of the plant family Cactaceae within the order Caryophyllales. The word "cactus" derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greekκάκτος, kaktos, a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is not certain.^[4] Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in theAtacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Almost all cacti are succulents. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Cactus stems store water. 

gal1

Pronunciation: /gal/

Definition of gal

noun

informal, chiefly North American

• a girl or young woman.

Origin:

late 18th century: representing a pronunciation

vamoose

Pronunciation: /vəˈmuːs/

Definition of vamoose

verb

[no object] informal

• depart hurriedly:we’d better vamoose before we’re caught

Origin:

mid 19th century: from Spanish vamos 'let us go'

peekaboo

Pronunciation: /piːkəˈbuː/

(also peek-a-boo)

Translate peekaboo | into Italian

Definition of peekaboo

noun

[mass noun]

• a game played with a young child, which involves hiding and suddenly reappearing, saying ‘peekaboo’.

adjective

[attributive]

• (of a garment) made of transparent fabric or having a pattern of small holes:a black lace peekaboo dress
• (of a hairstyle) concealing one eye with a fringe or wave.

Origin:

late 16th century: from peek + boo¹

buckskin

Pronunciation: /ˈbʌkskɪn/

Translate buckskin | into Italian

Definition of buckskin

noun

• 1 the skin of a male deer: she knelt on a buckskin
• [mass noun] greyish leather with a suede finish, traditionally made from buckskin but now often made from sheepskin: [as modifier]:a pair of buckskin moccasins
• (buckskins) clothes or shoes made from buckskin leather: the Great Plainsman wore fringed buckskins
• [mass noun] thick, smooth cotton or woollen fabric: [as modifier]:buckskin cloth

• 2North American a horse of a greyish-yellow colour: [as modifier]:the buckskin mare stumbled

Derivatives

buckskinned

adjective

buckboard

Pronunciation: /ˈbʌkbɔːd/

Definition of buckboard

noun

North American

• an open horse-drawn carriage with four wheels and seating that is attached to a plank stretching between the front and rear axles.

Origin:

mid 19th century: from buck 'body of a cart' (perhaps a variant of obsolete bouk 'belly, body') + board