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"For the weekly docket the court jester wore his standard grab of well-used and deeply faded maroon pajamas and lavender terry-cloth shower shoes with no shocks""The pajamas and shoes weren't nearly as troubling as the wig. It parted at the middle and rolled in layers downward, over his ears, with tight curls coiling off into three directions, and feel heavily onto his shoulder."What are the meaning of "docket"," shower shoes" and "coiling off" here?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

A 'docket' usually means a list of matters to be dealt with in a law court, so it sounds like the guy has neen charged with a crime an is in court.

'Shower shoes' are slippers you put on when you come out of the shower. Maybe even shoes that you wear while you are in the shower, eg to keep your feet from picking up infections from the floor of a public shower.

'Coil' means wind tightly in circles, eg in the way you would wind up and store a rope.

'Coiling off in(to) 3 directions' just means that his hair was in coils that were 'going in 3 directions', ie it was a bit untidy.

Best wishes, Clive

Belly · Answer

Clive
Hi,

A 'docket' usually means a list of matters to be dealt with in a law court, so it sounds like the guy has neen charged with a crime an is in court.

'Shower shoes' are slippers you put on when you come out of the shower. Maybe even shoes that you wear while you are in the shower, eg to keep your feet from picking up infections from the floor of a public shower.

'Coil' means wind tightly in circles, eg in the way you would wind up and store a rope.

'Coiling off in(to) 3 directions' just means that his hair was in coils that were 'going in 3 directions', ie it was a bit untidy.

Best wishes, Clive

A 'docket' usually means a list of matters to be dealt with in a law court, so it sounds like the guy has neen charged with a crime an is in court.

-> I still don't understand the emaning, "with a crime an is in court"? But I don't think this relates to court since court jester means a royal joke teller, right?

And there were some typos in the extract above, allow me to type them again:

For the weekly docket the court jester wore his standard garb of well-used and deeply faded maroon pajamas and lavender terry-cloth shower with no socks.

The pajamas and shoes weren't nearly as troubling as the wig. It parted at the middle and rolled in layers downward, over his ears, with tight curls coiling off into three directions, and fell heavily onto his shoulders.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Sorry, it was a typo.

A 'docket' usually means a list of matters to be dealt with in a law court, so it sounds like the guy has been charged with a crime and is in court.

Well, some context is obviously needed in order for the whole thing to make sense. Can you supply it? Where did you find these sentences?

A court jester normally works for a King, so perhaps the King is conducting a court?

Clive

Belly · Answer

I still don't understand the emaning, "with a crime and is in court"? But I don't think this relates to court since court jester means a royal joke teller, right?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

The word 'docket' suggests the sentence is related to a court where crimes are judged. As I said, we need more context to decide what is going on here. Where were these sentences found?

Clive

Belly · Answer

in the Brethren, book of John Grisham. That's all about it, no more context

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Here's a slightly fuller context. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/beginnings/01/25/1brethren/index.html

It shows the guy is an inmate in a prison, and he is participating in some kind of mock court activity.

For the weekly docket the court jester wore his standard garb of well-used and deeply faded maroon pajamas and lavender terry-cloth shower shoes with no socks. He wasn't the only inmate who went about his daily business in his pajamas, but no one else dared wear lavender shoes. His name was T. Karl, and he'd once owned banks in Boston.

The pajamas and shoes weren't nearly as troubling as the wig. It parted at the middle and rolled in layers downward, over his ears, with tight curls coiling off into three directions, and fell heavily onto his shoulders. It was a bright gray, almost white, and fashioned after the Old English magistrate's wigs from centuries earlier. A friend on the outside had found it at a secondhand costume store in Manhattan, in the Village.

AUDIO

Listen to the first chapter of "The Brethren" in Liquid Audio

http://www.liquidaudio.com/

T. Karl wore it to court with great pride, and, odd as it was, it had, with time, become part of the show. The other inmates kept their distance from T. Karl anyway, wig or not.

He stood behind his flimsy folding table in the prison cafeteria, tapped a plastic mallet that served as a gavel, cleared his squeaky throat, and announced with great dignity: "Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. The Inferior Federal Court of North Florida is now in session. Please rise." No one moved, or at least no one made an effort to stand. Thirty inmates lounged in various stages of repose in plastic cafeteria chairs, some looking at the court jester, some chatting away as if he didn't exist. T. Karl continued: "Let all ye who search for justice draw nigh and get screwed."

No laughs. It had been funny months earlier when T. Karl first tried it. Now it was just another part of the show. He sat down carefully, making sure the rows of curls bouncing upon his shoulders were given ample chance to be seen, then he opened a thick red leather book which served as the official record for the court. He took his work very seriously. Three men entered the room from the kitchen. Two of them wore shoes. One was eating a saltine. The one with no shoes was also bare-legged up to his knees, so that below his robe his spindly legs could be seen. They were smooth and hairless and very brown from the sun. A large tattoo had been applied to his left calf. He was from California. All three wore old church robes from the same choir, pale green with gold trim. They came from the same store as T. Karl's wig, and had been presented by him as gifts at Christmas. That was how he kept his job as the court's official clerk.

There were a few hisses and jeers from the spectators as the judges ambled across the tile floor, in full regalia, their robes flowing. They took their places behind a long folding table, near T. Karl but not too near, and faced the weekly gathering. The short round one sat in the middle. Joe Roy Spicer was his name, and by default he acted as the Chief Justice of the tribunal. In his previous life, Judge Spicer had been a Justice of the Peace in Mississippi, duly elected by the people of his little county, and sent away when the feds caught him skimming bingo profits from a Shriners club.

"Please be seated," he said. Not a soul was standing.

Clive

Belly · Answer

CliveHi,

Here's a slightly fuller context. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/beginnings/01/25/1brethren/index.html

It shows the guy is an inmate in a prison, and he is participating in some kind of mock court activity.

For the weekly docket the court jester wore his standard garb of well-used and deeply faded maroon pajamas and lavender terry-cloth shower shoes with no socks. He wasn't the only inmate who went about his daily business in his pajamas, but no one else dared wear lavender shoes. His name was T. Karl, and he'd once owned banks in Boston.

The pajamas and shoes weren't nearly as troubling as the wig. It parted at the middle and rolled in layers downward, over his ears, with tight curls coiling off into three directions, and fell heavily onto his shoulders. It was a bright gray, almost white, and fashioned after the Old English magistrate's wigs from centuries earlier. A friend on the outside had found it at a secondhand costume store in Manhattan, in the Village.

AUDIO

Listen to the first chapter of "The Brethren" in Liquid Audio

http://www.liquidaudio.com/

T. Karl wore it to court with great pride, and, odd as it was, it had, with time, become part of the show. The other inmates kept their distance from T. Karl anyway, wig or not.

He stood behind his flimsy folding table in the prison cafeteria, tapped a plastic mallet that served as a gavel, cleared his squeaky throat, and announced with great dignity: "Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. The Inferior Federal Court of North Florida is now in session. Please rise." No one moved, or at least no one made an effort to stand. Thirty inmates lounged in various stages of repose in plastic cafeteria chairs, some looking at the court jester, some chatting away as if he didn't exist. T. Karl continued: "Let all ye who search for justice draw nigh and get screwed."

No laughs. It had been funny months earlier when T. Karl first tried it. Now it was just another part of the show. He sat down carefully, making sure the rows of curls bouncing upon his shoulders were given ample chance to be seen, then he opened a thick red leather book which served as the official record for the court. He took his work very seriously. Three men entered the room from the kitchen. Two of them wore shoes. One was eating a saltine. The one with no shoes was also bare-legged up to his knees, so that below his robe his spindly legs could be seen. They were smooth and hairless and very brown from the sun. A large tattoo had been applied to his left calf. He was from California. All three wore old church robes from the same choir, pale green with gold trim. They came from the same store as T. Karl's wig, and had been presented by him as gifts at Christmas. That was how he kept his job as the court's official clerk.

There were a few hisses and jeers from the spectators as the judges ambled across the tile floor, in full regalia, their robes flowing. They took their places behind a long folding table, near T. Karl but not too near, and faced the weekly gathering. The short round one sat in the middle. Joe Roy Spicer was his name, and by default he acted as the Chief Justice of the tribunal. In his previous life, Judge Spicer had been a Justice of the Peace in Mississippi, duly elected by the people of his little county, and sent away when the feds caught him skimming bingo profits from a Shriners club.

"Please be seated," he said. Not a soul was standing.

Clive

But if I want to translate the first sentence into my language, I must know the word" docket". Docket is a list

of cases to be dealt with in a particular court , and T. Karl is certainly not a thing in that list

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Nothing here says he is a thing on the list.

For the weekly docket the court jester wore his standard garb

This means he wore it 'for the purpose of dealing with or attending the process associated with' the docket.

It's like saying, 'For dinner, I wore my red sweater'.

Clive

Hoa Thai · Answer

Hi Clive,

Could docket in this case be a summary or digest? (docket: Middle English - summary, diggest).

By the way, do you know what happend to my earlier post for this thread? A system glitch occured, right? Many posts of mine and others' new threads disappeared!

Thanks,
Hoa Thai

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