| The Steely Dan Dictionary | |
| An A to Z glossary of obscure and confusing words taken from the lyrics of Steely Dan songs. | |
| Keywords : Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker | |
| H2 tags : 5 March 2011: Site Updated!; Ever wondered what a bodhisattva is? Or how to gaslight somebody? Then this site is for you! You're looking at an A-Z glossary of over 100 obscure words, people and places — all taken from the lyrics of Steely Dan songs. The creative genii behind Steely Dan (Walter Becker and Donald Fagen) have long been fond of peppering their lyrics with arcane literary and cultural references, the meaning of which can be murky at best (given the duo's legendary reticence). After searching in vain for an explanatory lexicon, I decided to create my own. Note that this is a dictionary of real-life people and places only. Becker and Fagen also concoct fictional names, objects and locales for many of their songs (Hoops McCann, battle apple and Steamer Heaven to name but three), and because of their imaginary nature, it's impossible to pin down an exact definition, so I have deliberately excluded them from this site. (The one exception is Custerdome since despite being fictional, Becker & Fagen have provided a clear and unambiguous definition — plus, I was sick of people asking me what it meant!) It may also be obvious that site is mainly for the benefit of non-Americans — I'm sure most Yanks would know where TJ is and what IHOP does, but for myself (an Irishman) and for the rest of the world, it's not quite so intuitive. Though even if you were born and bred in the USA, you might be able to learn a thing or two here — how many Americans know where Lhasa is, or how to mix a zombie? I welcome all feedback about this site — feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions or corrections. Enjoy! — Dan O'Malley '54 Strat; A-Frame; Altamira; Ambush; amen corner; Andrea Doria; Annandale; Arcturus; Aries; Arlen; automat; baion; banyan; barrio; Barrytown; black cow; Blazer; Bleecker Street; bodhisattva; Brubeck; Brut; Camarillo; capris; catbird seat; Cathy Berberian; chasing the dragon; cheaters; Chesterfield Kings; city of St. John; corncrib; Crimson Tide; Cuervo Gold; Culver City; Custerdome; cutouts; Dean and DeLuca; derby hat; Doctor Wu; Eames chair; Eldorado; Erzulie; fez; French twist; gaslighting; gaucho; Gladstone bag; Gramercy Park; grok; Guadalajara; Hackensack; Hello Kitty; I.G.Y.; IHOP; ikat; inside straight; Jackson; Jane Street; Jill St. John; Jungle Jim; kirschwasser; Kiss Me Deadly; KLH; Kundalini; Lark; Lhasa; Lincoln Town Car; Little Eva; Luger; masissi; Medicine Park; mini-Glock; Mizar; moray eel; Mr. Chow; Mr. Parker; Muswellbrook; New Frontier; Nino's; oleander; package store; panatela; piaster; prickly pear; Rabelaisian; Radio City; Raelettes; Red Hook; retsina; rinkydink; Roppongi; Rudy's; Santa Ana winds; Savoy sides; Scarsdale; skeevy; squonk; Steely Dan; Strand; Sunset; Sutton Place; Tanqueray; TJ; Tompkins Square; tracer rounds; trading fours; Tuesday Weld; William and Mary; wing chair; Wolverine; zombie; Credits: |
| Last Update : | 24/December/2011 |
| Google PR : | 4 |
| Internal links : | 2 |
| External links : | 104 |
| Archive : | Check how did the site look in the past? |