Queen Heaven
Abel - (The Miracle) Old Testament Book of Genesis, the second son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Cain. Abel was a shepherd, and his older brother, Cain, cultivated the land.
Abu Dhabi - (China Belle) Capital of the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle-East.
Adam and Eve - Bible, traditionally the first man and woman, progenitors of the human race
Al Capone - (Stone Cold Crazy) (1899-1947), Italian-American gangster of the Prohibition era. Born in Naples and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Capone was known as "Scarface" because of a knife cut on his cheek
Allah - (Mustapha) Muslim name for the Supreme Being. The term is a contraction of the Arabic al-llah, "the God." Both the idea and the word existed in pre-Islamic Arabian tradition, in which some evidence of a primitive monotheism can also be found. Although they recognized other, lesser gods, the pre-Islamic Arabs recognized Allah as the supreme God. The Koran, the holy book of Islam, asserts that Allah is the creator and the one who rewards and punishes; that he is unique and can only be one; that he is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and all-merciful. The core of the religion is submission to the will of Allah; people must abandon themselves entirely to God's sovereignty.
Also Ran - (The Also-Rans, Roger solo) As in a horse race winners announcement. The winner, second and third places are announced, and "5 other horses also ran"; Not placed; a horse or dog that finishes out of the money in a race; a contestant that does not win; one that is of little importance esp. competitively.
Apothecary - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) One who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes
Avesta - ZEND-AVESTA, the prayer book of Zoroastrianism (q.v.) . It forms the sacred books of the present-day Zoroastrians known as Parsis, who live in small communities in Iran and in India and Pakistan. The original home of these worshipers and of their holy scriptures was ancient Persia, and the faith they profess was that founded by the ancient Persian Zoroaster, one of the great religious teachers of the East. The doctrines of this ancient belief and a record of the customs of the earliest period of Persian history are preserved in the Avesta. Flourishing six centuries before the Christian era, the religion represented by the Avesta may have been the faith of the Achaemenids (q. v.), the dynasty of the Persian kings Cyrus the Great, Darius I, and Xerxes I. The religion lost adherents after the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and many of the sacred books were lost. It was revived but was then virtually destroyed in the 7th century AD by the Muslims in their victorious invasion. Most of the Zoroastrians were then compelled to accept the Koran, the sacred scriptures of Islam; many, however, fled to India for refuge and took with them what was left of their sacred writings. A few of the faithful remained behind in Persia and, although persecuted, they continued to practice their religion. These two groups, about 80,000 persons in India and 18,000 in Persia, were responsible for the preservation of the Avesta in its present form.
axe - (All The Way From Memphis) Slang term for a guitar.
Ayatollah - (People On Streets) A title given to chiefs in the Islamic Kingdom; most notably Grand Ayatollah Muhsin Al Hakim, leader for the Shia from 1955-1970, and Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the call for Salman Rushdie's death after his publication of The Satanic Verses.
Babel, Tower of - (The Miracle) According to the Old Testament (see Gen. 11:1-9), tower erected on the plain of Shinar in Babylonia by descendants of Noah. The builders intended the tower to reach to heaven; their presumption, however, angered Jehovah, who interrupted construction by causing among them a previously unknown confusion of languages. He then scattered these people, speaking different languages, over the face of the earth. The story possibly was inspired by the fall of the famous temple-tower of Etemenanki, later restored by King Nabopolassar (r. 626-605 BC) and his son Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia. The Genesis account appears to play on the Babylonian word bă b-ili ("gate of God") and on the Hebrew words Bă bhel ("Babylon") and bă lăl ("to confuse"). The English words babel and babble are derived from the story.
Bali - Island, S Indonesia, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, in the Indian Ocean.
Beauty Queen - (Fat Bottomed Girls) A girl or woman in a contest at which judges select the most beautiful.
Bed of Roses - (We Are The Champions) (1648) a place or situation of agreeable ease
Beeb - (At The Beeb) Affectionate name for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
Be'elzebub - (Bohemian Rhapsody) Prince of devils; a Philistine god; lord of the flies
Belladonnic - (Keep Yourself Alive) Of, or relating to Belladonna, a European plant yielding a powerful medicine.
Bethlehem - (Jesus) The traditional site of Christ's birth
Big Cheese - (People On Streets) Slang term for an important person, or someone with power over others.
Bijou - A small dainty usually ornamental piece of delicate workmanship : Jewel; something delicate, elegant, or highly prized
Birthday Suit - naked
Bismillah - (Bohemian Rhapsody) At the age of 4, although this varies, the ceremony of Bismillah takes place. In the presence of guests and children, the fathers ask the child to repeat the formula - "In the name of Allah, the gracious, the most merciful" and then follows verses from the Qur'an. So begins the childs education into Islam. All those that are present eat sweatmeats but there is no elaborate feasting. Male circumision is done early, preferably on the 7th day, but some Muslim traditions leave it until a later age. There seems to be an obvious linguistic connection between Bismillah and the Jewish ceremony, held when the male reaches the age of 13, of Bar'mitzvah; "With the name of Allah", a phrase Muslims use whenever starting something (even entering a house). The full version starts each section of Quran.
B Movie - (Headlong) From the 1950s - The supporting movie to a main feature, often badly made; a cheaply produced motion picture
Bohemian - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A native of Bohemia; a gypsy; an artist who leads an unconventional life
Brighton Rock - A book by Graham Green; A kind of tough sweet in shape of a tube bought at the seaside; BRIGHTON, borough, East Sussex, SE England, on the English Channel. A major seaside resort, Brighton is an attractive town known for its many parks and handsome squares and crescents
Buffalo Bill - (William Frederick Cody), (1846-1917), American guide, scout, and showman, born in Scott Co., Iowa. Cody became one of the riders of the Pony Express when it was established in 1860, and at the beginning of the American Civil War was a scout and guide for the Union army
Cadillac - Large american car.
Cain - (The Miracle) Old Testament, elder son of Adam and Eve and the brother of Abel. When Abel's sacrificial offering was accepted in preference to his own, Cain slew Abel and became the first murderer.
Captain Cook - (The Miracle) James Cook. 1728-1779. English mariner and explorer.
Captain Scott - Robert Falcon Scott. 1868-1912. English explorer.
Cardiac - (Sheer Heart Attack) Of, relating to, situated near, or acting on the heart; of or relating to the cardia of the stomach; of, relating to, or affected with heart disease; a person with heart disease
Cartier - A highly expensive jewellers in London's Bond Street, parodied by Elton John on a bside 'ad' for the company: "When you're feeling dull and weary, down at heart, and never cheery, with the mundane things that clutter up ones life..Take a drive down to Bond Street, where royalty and Sheiks meet... Make your claim..Here's the thing to do - spend a grand or two at Cartier"
Casino - (Seaside Rendezvous) A gambling establishment, from the name of a popular family card game that originated in Italy in the 19th century.
Chevy - Slang name for american car named after Louis Chevrolet, Swiss (Latterly naturalised American) automobile racer, designer, and manufacturer.
Chippendale - (Delilah) (1876) : of or relating to an 18th century English furniture style characterized by graceful outline and often ornate rococo ornamentation
CIA - (The Invisible Man) Central Intelligence Agency, united states
Clementine - (Seaside Rendezvous) From southern american folk song "Oh my darling Clementine"
Cliff Richard - (end of A Nation Of Haircuts) British singer since the 1950s, famous for his youthful appearance and Christianity. The only artist to have had a UK chart-topping single in the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Wrote some of the songs for Dave Clark's "Time" musical, to which Freddie contributed the title track and "In My Defence".
Clint Eastwood - (Drowse) American movie actor, especially in 'spaghetti westerns' of the 1970s
Constantinople - (Interlude in Constantinople - Roger solo) Former name of Istanbul, city, NW Turkey, capital of Istanbul Province, and the largest city in Turkey. The province and the city are situated on both sides of the Bosporus, the strait that separates Europe from Asia.
crueladeville - (Let me entertain you) From the Disney movie 101 Dalmations - The evil protagonist who wants to kill the puppies to make a fur coat is named Cruella de Ville
Cuddle - (Delilah) To hold close for warmth or comfort or in affection; to lie close or snug : NESTLE, SNUGGLE; cuddle (1825) : a close embrace.
Curtain Call - An appearance by a performer (as after the final curtain of a play) in response to the applause of the audience.
Cyborg - (Cyborg) A machine with human-like form, used in many science-fiction novels and stories - most famously and popularly in Star Wars (C3-PO).
Dali - Salvador Dali, 20th century surrealist painter
Dandle - (Good Company) To move (as a baby) up and down in one's arms or on one's knee in affectionate play; Pamper, pet
Dandy - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance
Day at the Races - From the name of the Marx Brothers film.
Delilah - One of Freddie's cats. Named after Delilah, who stole Samson's power by cutting off his hair.
Desparate Dan - (Believe In Yourself) One of the main characters of the British childrens' comic The Dandy, which ran for over 60 years. Famous for his love of Cow Pie.
DJ's - (People On Streets) Disc Jockey, ie. the person who selects and mixes the tracks played at a disco or on the radio.
DNA - (Sheer Heart Attack) Deoxyribonucleic acid - complex giant molecule that contains in chemically coded form the information needed for a cell to make proteins
Doris Day - American comedy film actress, famous for her romantic comedy movies with Rock Hudson and James Garner.
Duane Eddy - (Believe In Yourself) Twangy guitarist, similar music style to the Shadows.
Duck Soup - Bootleg - From the name of the Marx Brothers film., following Queen's idea of using A Day at the Races and A Night At The Opera (qv) as album titles.
Dynasty - A succession of rulers of the same line of descent; a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time.
Ecstacy - (Mr Bad Guy, Breakthru) A state of being beyond reason and self-control; archaic : Swoon; a state of overwhelming emotion; esp : rapturous delight; Trance; esp : a mystic or prophetic trance; (1983) a synthetic amphetamine analogue C11H15NO2 used illicitly for its mood-enhancing and hallucinogenic properties. Ecstacy, rapture, transport, mean intense exaltation of mind and feelings. Ecstacy and Rapture both suggest a state of trance or near immobility produced by an overpowering emotion. Ecstacy may apply to any strong emotion (as joy, fear, rage, adoration) <religious ecstasy >. Rapture usually implies intense bliss or beatitude <in speechless rapture >.
Electric Fire - A domestic appliance, peculiar to the UK,it seems, for heating.
Escalator - (I Can't Live With You) Moving stairway
Etiquette - (Killer Queen) From French -étiquette, lit., ticket - more at Ticket (1750) : the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life
Facial - (Seaside Rendezvous) A facial treatment, involving steaming of the pores to release subcutaneous grime.
Fairy - A mythical being of folklore and romance usually having diminutive human form and magic powers.
Fairy Ring - The folk belief that such rings were dancing places of the fairies] (1599); a ring of basidiomycetous mushrooms produced at the periphery of a body of mycelium which has grown outward from an initial growth point; also : a ring of luxuriant vegetation esp. when associated with these mushrooms; a mushroom (esp. Marasmius oreades ) that commonly grows in fairy rings
Fairytale - (The Show Must Go On) A story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins); called also fairy story; a made-up story usually designed to mislead.
Fandango - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A lively Spanish dance
FBI - (The Invisible Man) Federal Bureau of Investigation, united states
Fi Fo - (March of the Black Queen) From the children's story "Jack and the Beanstalk" - the Ogres Cry - Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an englishman
Figaro - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A character from several operatic works
Floozy - (Fat Bottomed Girls) A young woman or man of loose morals
Frankenstein - (Bicycle Race) The title character in Mary W. Shelley's novel Frankenstein who creates a monster by which he is eventually killed; a monster in the shape of a man esp. in popularized versions of the Frankenstein story; a monstrous creation; espesically a work or agency that ruins its originator.
Fred Astaire - (1899-1987), American dancer and actor, known for his graceful, sophisticated style and for his musical comedy films.
Galileo - (Bohemian Rhapsody) (1564-1642), Italian physicist and astronomer, who, with the German astronomer Johannes (or Johann) Kepler, initiated the scientific revolution that flowered in the work of the English physicist Sir Isaac Newton.
Geisha - (Killer Queen) Class of professional dancing and singing women of Japan
Golden Gate - (The Miracle) Strait, W California, at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, separating the bay from the Pacific Ocean
Goliath - One of Freddie's cats - named after the giant in the biblical story of Daviod and Goliath. Freddie: "Ha! That'll get them! They'll expect me to call him Samson!" (Another of his cats is called Delilah (qv) - Samson (qv) would have been the logical choice of name)
Great Wall - (China Belle) The Great Wall of China; the largest man-made structure on the Earth and the only one to be visible from the moon. Built to keep the Mongolians from invading China around the time of the birth of Christ.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon - (The Miracle) One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world
Harridan - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A Hag; An odious old woman; A vixenish woman: A trollop
Headlong - Headfirst; without deliberation : Recklessly; without pause or delay; archaic : Steep, Precipitous; lacking in calmness or restraint; <a É torrent of emotion>; plunging headforemost
Highlander - An inhabitant of a highland; an inhabitant of the Highlands of Scotland
Hoop Diddy Diddy, Hoop Diddy Doo - (Headlong) The slang form of the descriptive forces at work in the motivation of a complex song structure. It might just be nonsense too :)
Hot Dog - (Bicycle Race) A frankfurter heated and served in a long split roll; one that hotdogs; also : Show-off; Used to express approval or gratification
Hurly Burly - Uproar, Tumult
Ibex - The name of one of Freddie's former bands; Any of several species of wild, Old World goat of the genus Capra, characterized by enormous, back-curving horns, which in the male measure from 75 to 120 cm (30 to 48 in). The Alpine ibex, C. ibex, which is representative of the genus, stands about 1 m (about 39 in) high, is brownish-gray, and associates in herds of 5 to 20 members in craggy terrain between the timber and snow lines of the Alps. It is remarkably sure-footed and is known for its agility in leaping about rocky ledges. The female has shorter horns and no beard. Alpine ibexes have been severely hunted and are now protected. The largest ibex, C. Sibirica, is native to the Tien Shan, Altai, and Himalaya mountains of Central Asia. Ibexes that are threatened with extinction are the Nubian Ibex, C. nubiana, of the Middle East; the Abyssinian ibex, C. walie, of Ethiopia; and the Spanish ibex, C. pyrenaica, of the Iberian Peninsula. The ibex is readily tamed, and the bezoar goat, C. aegagrus of Iran is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic goat
Ibrahim - (Mustapha) 1615-1648. Ottoman sultan (1640-48). Son of Ahmed I; succeeded brother Murad IV; a weak, unstable ruler who benefitted from able guidance of grand vizier Kemanke0Kara Mustafa Pa0a early in reign; recovered Sea of Azov from Cossacks; had Kara Mustafa executed (1644) and came under influence of harem and of inferior ministers; sent expedition against Crete (1645), beginning 24-year war with Venice; deposed by Janissary uprising and executed; A very common Muslim name; the name of prophet Abraham in Arabic. Muhammed claims to be descending from Abraham.
Icarus - (No-One But You) Although not named in the song, it alludes to the story of Icarus, who made wings from feathers and wax. He flew too close to the sun, and his wings melted and he crashed out of the sky.
I had a dream - (One Vision) From Dr Martin Luther King's famous speech - "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Innuendo - (Innuendo) An oblique hint; insinuation. The word does NOT rhyme with 'splendour'
Invisible Man - (The Invisible Man) Much filmed story in Hollywood about a man who, surprise surprise, becomes invisible overnight after a laboratory experiment goes wrong. Initially he is excited by the idea of invisibility and being able to watch people unobserved, but, as with all these morality tales, he suffers.
Jack the Lad - From several sources: The lowest crew member on a ship was often known as a Jack (hence Jack Tar) and was usually from the lower classes, and oftentimes on the lookout for unsavoury deals: Jack the Ripper was also known in the East End of London as Jack the Lad.
Jaws - (Bicycle Race) 1975 movie by Steven Spielberg.
Jazz - Type of music developed by black Americans about 1900 and possessing an identifiable history and describable stylistic evolution. Jazz has borrowed from black folk music, and popular music has borrowed from jazz, but these three kinds of music remain distinct and should not be confused with one another.
Jerry - One of Freddie's cats - named after the mouse (no really!) in Tom & Jerry, US cartoon series.
John Wayne - (Bicycle Race) American 'macho' movie actor, especially in Westerns. Born Marion Michael Morrison, which probably explains his obsession with playing a 'real man'.
Junketer - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) One who feasts.
Keith Richard - (end of A Nation Of Haircuts) Guitarist with the Rolling Stones since the 1960s, good friends with Mick Jagger most of the time, sported a messy mop of greasy hair. Now sports a messy mop of grey hair...
Kennedy - (Bicycle Race) John F Kennedy - USA President in the 60s. Kennedy approved an invasion of Cuba in April by refugees operating with the help of U.S. agencies. The abrupt failure of the invasion at the Bay of Pigs resulted in personal embarrassment for the president. Later in the spring Kennedy pondered sending U.S. troops into Laos, which was being threatened by Communist insurgents. He flew to Vienna in June to meet with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev (q.v.). The two leaders agreed on a neutralized Laos, but Kennedy was chilled by Khrushchev's grim warning that West Berlin was "a bone in my throat." When the wall between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin was erected in August, Kennedy responded by sending 1500 U.S. troops over the land route to Berlin to reaffirm access rights there.
Khashoggi - (Khashoggi's Ship) Adnan Khashoggi, businessman, widely known as an international arms dealer
Khruschev - (Bicycle Race) Nikita Khrushchev - Soviet President in the 60s. He was deposed as premier and party head on Oct. 14-15, 1964. He was then accused of political errors, including formenting the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Kingdom Come - (Gimme The Prize) From the phrase "Thy kingdom come" (Mt 6:10)] (1785); the next world; The Afterlife
Kurgan - [Russian, of Turkic origin; akin to Turk kurgan fortress, castle] (1889) : a burial mound of eastern Europe or Siberia.
Lady Godiva - (Bicycle Race) Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia (fl. 1005-57). She is known to have persuaded her husband to found monasteries at Coventry (1043) and Stow. According to legend, she obtained a reduction in the excessive taxes levied by her husband on the people of Coventry by consenting to ride naked through the town on a white horse.
The Laughing Gnome - (No More Fun) Title of a 1968 David Bowie song.
Lennon - (Life Is Real) John Winston Lennon. 1940-1980. English singer and songwriter. Founder (1956), guitarist and singer with the Quarrymen, later (1958) known as the Beatles, most successful rock-and-roll group of the 1960s
Lepidopterists - (Believe In Yourself) People who study butterflies and moths.
Lily of the Valley - A low perennial herb (Convallaria majalis ) of the lily family that has two large oblong lanceolate leaves and a raceme of fragrant nodding bell-shaped white flowers
Limelight - (Cool Cat) A stage lighting instrument producing illumination by means of an oxyhydrogen flame directed on a cylinder of lime and usually equipped with a lens to concentrate the light in a beam; the white light produced by such an instrument; Spotlight; the center of public attention; to center attention on.
Liverpool Boys - (No More Fun) The Beatles.
Lone Ranger - Hero of an American radio and television western
Look Back in Anger - (Need Your Loving Tonight) From play of the same name by English dramatist John Osborne; also, Oasis, 'Don't look back in anger' 1997
Louvre - (Killer Queen) Enormous museum in Paris.
Love Conquers All - (Don't Lose Your Head) The inscription on the medallion worn by Chaucer's Nun, The Canterbury Tales.
Love Lies Bleeding - A small plant that produces blood red flowers.
Lucy was high - Alluding to the Beatles song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' Widely regarded as an anthem in support of LSD because of its title (Lucy-Sky-Diamonds) and its surreal lyrical content.
Mack - (Dragon Attack) Reinholdt Mack, one of Queen's producers (The Game, A Kind of Magic, etc)
Magnifico - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A nobleman of Venice; A person of high position; Also, in Spanish - Great, Cool, Superb, Fantastic, etc.
Majesty - (All God's People) From French majesté (14c); sovereign power, authority, or dignity; used in addressing or referring to reigning sovereigns and their consorts <Your Majesty > <Her Majesty's Government>; royal bearing or aspect : Grandeur; greatness or splendor of quality or character.
Marie Antoinette - (Killer Queen) Queen consort (1774-92) of Louis XVI of France; her unpopularity helped discredit the monarchy in the period before the French Revolution - not too smart. Her famous comment was 'let them eat cake', on being told the peasants couldn't afford bread.
Masquerade - (Put Out The Fire) a social gathering of persons wearing masks and often fantastic costumes; a costume for wear at such a gathering; an action or appearance that is mere disguise or outward show; to disguise oneself; also : to go about disguised; to take part in a masquerade; to assume the appearance of something one is not.
Melancholy - (My Melancholy Blues) An abnormal state attributed to an excess of black bile and characterized by irascibility or depression; Black bile; Melancholia; depression of spirits : Dejection; a pensive mood; suggestive or expressive of melancholy <sang in a É voice>; causing or tending to cause sadness or depression of mind or spirit : Dismal <a É thought>; depressed in spirits; Dejected, sad; Pensive
Memphis - (All The Way From Memphis) City in Tennessee, USA - birthplace of Elvis Presley; largely associated with Rock'n'Roll.
Memphis God - (No More Fun) - Elvis.
Mercury - Roman god of commerce, eloquence, travel, cunning, and theft who serves as messenger to the other gods; a bearer of messages or news or a conductor of travelers; metallic element, symbol Hg, one of the transition elements (q.v.) in group 12 (or IIb) of the periodic table, shining, mobile liquid, silver-white in color; In the solar system, the planet closest to the sun; In Roman mythology, messenger of the gods, the son of the god Jupiter and of Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. Mercury was also the god of merchants and of trading and shared many of the attributes of the Greek god Hermes. The worship of Mercury was introduced into Rome in 495 BC when a temple was dedicated to him near the Circus Maximus. His festival was celebrated on May 15; ALSO Mercurial - of, relating to, or born under the planet Mercury; having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury; characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood
Miracle - (The Miracle) An event, apparently transcending human powers and the laws of nature, that is attributed to a special divine intervention or to supernatural forces. Stories of miracles are a common feature of practically all religions; To wonder at; an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs; an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment; Christian Science : a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law.
Moet et Chandon - (Killer Queen) A popular brand of champagne.
Mona Lisa - (The Miracle) Leonardo da Vinci painted several portraits, but the only one that survives is the famous Mona Lisa (1503-06, Louvre). One of the most celebrated portraits ever painted, it is also known as La Gioconda, after the presumed name of the woman's husband. Leonardo seems to have had a special affection for the picture, for he took it with him on all of his subsequent travels.
Monstrosity - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A malformation of a plant or animal; something deviating from the normal; Freak; the quality or state of being monstrous; an object of great and often frightening size, force, or complexity; an excessively bad or shocking example.
Mortgage - (Fat Bottomed Girls) A legal device that gives a creditor, known as the mortgagee, an interest in property owned by a debtor, known as the mortgagor. The primary purpose of a mortgage is to provide collateral, in the form of property, to secure the repayment of a loan.
Mr Murdoch - (Dear Mr Murdoch, Roger solo) Rupert Murdoch, Australian newpaper and media tycoon. Publishes News of The World. Tried to buy Manchester United Football Club in 1998, which prompted Roger to re-release this track as an extra track on his 'Pressure On' single.
Mullah - An educated Muslim trained in traditional religious law and doctrine and usually holding an official post.
Mumbo-Jumbo - An object of superstitious homage and fear; a complicated often ritualistic observance with elaborate trappings; complicated activity usu. intended to obscure and confuse; unnecessarily involved and incomprehensible language; Gibberish.
Mustapha - Name of four sultans of the Ottoman empire; A very common Muslim name; comes from the full name of the prophet of Islam, Muhammed Mustapha.
Muzak - Recorded background 'music' transmitted by loudspeaker of a subscriber, as in a supermarket.
Nanny - (Fat Bottomed Girls) A child's nurse; Nursemaid
Nazis - [German, by shortening & alter. fr. Nationalsozialist, fr. national national + Sozialist socialist] (1930); a member of a German fascist party controlling Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Adolf Hitler; one who resembles a German Nazi
Nee-how - (China Belle) From the Mandarin Chinese "ni-hao" meaning "are you well?", and used in the same way as the English "hello".
Neptune - The Roman god of the seas
Nevermore - Never again; at no future time.
New Orleans - (No More Fun) Capital city of Louisiana, USA. Famous for its music with black origin, particularly blues and jazz.
News of the Screws - Slang derogatory term for News of the World (qv)
News of the World - Tabloid 'newspaper' owned by Rupert Murdoch
Night at the Opera - From the name of the Marx Brothers film.
Nile - River, E Africa, the longest river in the world. From Lake Victoria in E central Africa, it flows generally N through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, for a distance of 5584 km (3470 mi).
Nuke - (The Hitman) American slang. Attack with nuclear weaponry; genocide; to attack or destroy with or as if with nuclear bombs; Microwave.
Nymph - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A goddess of the mountains, forest, meadows or waters; A young and attractive woman; A maiden; The chrysalis of an insect
Oberon - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) The king of the fairies in medieval folklore; Character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Omnibus - (Seaside Rendezvous) A usually automotive public vehicle designed to carry a large number of passengers; Bus
Oriole - (All The Way From Memphis) despite strong rumours to the contrary, this does not appear to be an actual town or city anywhere in the USA. The only known reference to the word is that is a kind of bird, and that the Maryland, Virginia baseball team are called the Baltimore Orioles.
Oscar - Another one of Freddie's cats - named after Oscar Wilde.
Ostler - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) Variant spelling of Hostler; One who takes care of horses or mules; One who moves locomotives in and out of a roundhouse; also : one who services locomotives
Overkill - (The Show Must Go On) To obliterate (a target) with more nuclear force than required; a destructive capacity greatly exceeding that required for a given target; an excess of something (as a quantity or an action) beyond what is required or suitable for a particular purpose <a propaganda É> <an É in weaponry>; killing in excess of what is intended or required; Go too far; Excess.
Pantomime - (The Show Must Go On) An elaborately staged and costumed spectacle, based on fairy tales, incorporating song, dance, acrobatics, dialogue, and other elements from the English music hall.
Parahumanoidarianised - This, as most people MUST realise, is not a real word. He's just stuck the word 'human' in the middle of 'paranoid' it also adds the jokey connection with 'humanoid' - 'arian' is a standard english suffix, meaning the person who takes part in the main idea of the word (eg disciplinarian), and 'ised' is the past participle, ie, having had it done to. Come on, this is a ROGER lyric for flips sake :)
Parsee - (O. Pers. Parsa, "Persia"), followers of the ancient Persian religion known as Zoroastrianism (q.v.) , living in India, Iran, and Pakistan. Their ancestors fled from Persia in the 7th and 8th centuries to avoid persecution by Muslim invaders. They now number some 155,000, of whom some 90,000 live in and around Bombay; many Indian Parsis are engaged in business. Pakistani Parsis, some 5200, live mainly in Karachi. The Parsis divided into two sects in the 18th century over a calendar disagreement, and almost all present-day Parsis belong to either one of these sects. The religious and ethical literature of the Parsis is derived chiefly from the Avesta (q.v.). Their priesthood is hereditary, and they regard fire as purifying and sacred. A fire is kept constantly burning in the main temples by priests, and prayers and sacrifices are offered before this fire on all festival days. In the past, to avoid defilement, the Parsis left their dead exposed ontowers to vultures and other carrion-eating birds, but this practice is no longer widely followed.
Pedagogue - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A teacher of children; A schoolmaster.
Peers - (Seven Seas Of Rhye) One that is of equal standing with another : Equal; especially one belonging to the same societal group, especially based on age, grade, or status; archaic : Companion; a member of one of the five ranks (as duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron) of the British peerage; Nobleman.
Peter Pan - (Bicycle Race) The 'boy who never grew up' created by J M Barrie in the book of the same name.
Pissed - (Khashoggi's Ship) Chiefly Brit : Drunk, sometimes considered vulgar;l US: Angry, irritated - often used with off ; sometimes considered vulgar
Poach - (Drowse) To cook in simmering liquid
Prick teaser - (Don't Try Suicide) A man or woman who flirts, with the promise of sex, which is never fulfilled.
Prime Minister - (All God's People, People On Streets) The Head of government in the United Kingdom
Privy Councillors - (Seven Seas Of Rhye) Members of the cabinet of the British government constituting the supreme executive authority of the government, and are the sole advisers to the Crown.
Promenade - A walkway along the beach
Prophet - (The Prophet's Song) One who utters by or as if by divine inspiration; One who predicts with assurance or on the basis of mystic knowledge; Prefigurer; One who speaks as if divinely inspired; One who gives instruction in religious matters : Preacher; One who makes a prediction; Foreteller.
Queen - the wife or widow of a king; the wife or widow of a tribal chief; a female monarch; a female chieftain; a woman eminent in rank, power, or attractions <a movie queen>; a goddess or a thing personified as female and having supremacy in a specified realm; an attractive girl or woman; especially a beauty contest winner; the most privileged piece of each color in a set of chessmen having the power to move in any direction across any number of unoccupied squares; a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a queen; the fertile fully developed female of social bees, ants, and termites whose function is to lay eggs; a mature female cat kept esp. for breeding; (archaic) a gay man, especially an effeminate one - often used disparagingly; to act like a queen; especially to put on airs usually used with it "Queens it over her friends"; to become a queen in chess; to promote (a pawn) to a queen in chess.
Razzamatazz - (Let Me Entertain You) A state of confusion or hilarity; a complex manoeuver (as in sports) designed to confuse an opponent; a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display.
Red Letter day - (Friends Will Be Friends) From calendars - any day with any significance, ie, Public Holidays, and therefore printed in red.
Rendezvous - (Seaside Rendezvous) A meeting.
Rhapsody - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A short epic poem, or portion of an epic; a confused series of extravagantly enthusiastic statements.
Ritz - (Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon) Fashionable hotels in London, Paris, New York, etc.; the opulence of the hotels made the name synonymous with social elegance accompanied by great wealth.
Robin Hood - Hero of a group of English ballads of the late 14th or early 15th century. Robin Hood was portrayed as an outlaw who lived and poached in the royal forests of Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire, and Barnsdale, in Yorkshire. He robbed and killed those who represented the power of the government and the church and he championed the cause of the needy and oppressed.
Rolls Royce - (Bicycle Race) C.S. Rolls & Co., automobile manufacturers, which merged with Royce, Ltd. to form Rolls-Royce, Ltd. (1906).
Roseanne Barr - (People On Streets) American actress made popular through her own television sitcom "Roseanne", who has recently started her own Jerry Springer-style chat show and has an on-off marriage with actor Tom Arnold.
sacred cows - (Where Are You Now?) Objects which are respected and worshipped, taken from the Hindu religion where the cow is a sacred animal.
Sahara Desert - (The Miracle) Great desert area, N Africa, the W portion of the broad belt of arid land that extends from the Atlantic Ocean eastward past the Red Sea to Iraq. Because the Arabic word sahara (or sahra ) means literally "desert," several commentators, notably Bernstein 1958, Bremner 1980, and Harper 1975, 1985, have criticized Sahara desert as a redundancy. If English and Arabic were one language, the critics might have a good argument, but the fact is that Sahara in English is no more a synonym for desert (except in figurative use) than are Gobi and Mojave; it is, instead, the specific name of a specific desert, one that is commonly and idiomatically called both "the Sahara" and "the Sahara desert."
Salaam - (Mustapha) "Salaam Aleiqum" and "Aleiqum Salaam" and : the formal way of greeting each other (the second is the formal reply to the first). It means roughly "peace be over you" (cf. Shalom in Hebrew = peace); A salutation or ceremonial greeting in the East; an obeisance performed by bowing very low and placing the right palm on the forehead; to greet or pay homage to with a salaam; to perform a salaam. Latterly used when one mistakenly bows to someone not worthy - known as a Full Salaam.
Saloon - (Good Old Fashioned Loverboy) Parlour car; Sedan car - called also saloon car
Samson - Old Testament, Hebrew hero and for 20 years 12th judge of ancient Israel. Lost his power after his hair was cut off by Delilah.
Sandman - A genie in folklore who makes children sleepy by sprinkling sand in their eyes.
S and M - (Let Me Entertain You) Sado-masochism
Satyr - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A sylvan deity of thr ancient Greeks and Romans, part man and part goat, and extremely wanton.
Scaramouche - (Bohemian Rhapsody) A stock character in the Italian commedia dell'arte that burlesques the Spanish don and is characterized by boastfulness and cowardliness; A cowardly buffoon; Rascal, scamp
Schmolitics - (Pressure On) an originally-Jewish habit of replacing the first few letters of a word (Politics) with "sch.." in order to degrade its meaning.
Show Must Go On - From old Theatre speak - whatever disaster may have befallen, nothing can stop the show from going on. Ethel Merman, (1950s): "There's no business like show-business...let's go on with the show"
Siam - (China Belle) - The country now known as Thailand; gives its name to Siamese twins and Siamese cats.
Silhouetto - (Bohemian Rhapsody) Shadow
Sit on the Fence - (Under Pressure, Ride The Wild Wind) Refuse to make a decision.
six-string razor - (All The Way From Memphis) a guitar.
Soaraway Sun - Popular slogan for the "Sun" tabloid 'newspaper' in the UK owned by Rupert Murdoch
Stairway to Heaven - (No More Fun) English rock group Led Zeppelin's most famous hit. Also features in Wayne's World just after the Bohemian Rhapsody scene.
Star Wars - (Bicycle Race) 1977 Science Fiction movie by George Lucas; Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), U.S. military research program for developing an antiballistic missile (ABM) defense system, first proposed by President Ronald Reagan in March 1983.
Stickells - (Let me Entertain You) Gerry Stickells. Queen's tour manager.
Stilettoes - (She Makes Me) High heeled women's shoes; Stilletoe knife - very thin bladed.
Stone - (Bohemian Rhapsody) An ancient punishment whereby the victim has small stones thrown at them after they are buried up to the neck in sand. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Stormtrooper - (She Makes Me) Popular name for nazi infantrymen.
Superman - (Bicycle Race) A superior man that according to Nietzsche has learned to forgo fleeting pleasures and attain happiness and dominance through the exercise of creative power; a person of extraordinary or superhuman power or achievements; A superhero character from comic books of the 1940s onwards.
Syphilis - (Great King Rat) Infectious disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum and usually transmitted by sexual contact or kissing. Infection from contaminated objects is infrequent, because drying quickly kills the organisms.
Taj Mahal - (The Miracle) 17th-century mausoleum in Agra, India
Tango - (Good Old Fashioned Loverboy) Modern ballroom dance, of Argentinian origin. It was introduced and widely popularized in Latin America in the early 20th century and introduced into the U.S. about 1912. Considered disreputable at first, the dance is characterized by a great variety of long steps and frequent posturing; it is rather graceful and requires a large amount of space. Tango music is in 2/4 or 4/4 time, with a characteristic dotted rhythm. Both the music and dance of the tango were influenced by the Cuban habań era.
Tatterdemalion - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) A person dressed in ragged clothing : Ragamuffin; ragged or disreputable in appearance; being in a decayed state or condition; dilapidated; beggarly, disreputable
Tenement - (Tenement Funster) A block of buildings divided into seperate homes
Test Tube babies - (The Miracle) Produced by fertilization in laboratory apparatus and implantation in the uterus, by fertilization and growth in laboratory apparatus, or sometimes by artificial insemination
Tiananmen Square - (China Belle) Enormous square in the centre of Beijing (Peking), famous for its size and large portrait of Chairman Mao on the edge of the Forbidden City (he is buried in a huge stone sarcophagus at the gates), notorious for the student massacre which took place there in 1990.
tics - (Pressure On) Nervous twitches; Small, irritating bugs.
Tiffany - One of Freddie's cats. Named after Tiffany's (qv)
Tiffany's - (Let Me Entertain You) Alluding to the Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard movie 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. Tiffany and Co. a jewellers, was incorporated in 1868 with branches in Paris, London, and Geneva. The British sterling silver standard 0.925 fine, adopted by Tiffany in 1851, became the recognized standard throughout the country.
Titan - (Seven Seas Of Rhye) A giant deity in Greek mythology; any of a family of giants born of Uranus and Gaea and ruling the earth until overthrown by the Olympian gods; one that is gigantic in size or power : one that stands out for greatness of achievement
Titania - (Fairy Fellers Master Stroke) The wife of Oberon and queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Tom - Another of Freddie's cats, this time named after the CAT in Tom & Jerry.
Total Eclipse - (Khashoggi's Ship) (1671) : an eclipse in which one celestial body is completely obscured by the shadow or body of another.
Tower of Babel - (The Miracle) See Babel, Tower of.
Tres Charmant - (Seaside Rendezvous) So charming
Troubadour - (Seven Seas Of Rhye) One of a class of poets who flourished in Southern Europe, especially Provence, from the eleventh to the end of the thirteenth century.
Valentine - (Seaside Rendezvous) The object of affection on St Valentine's Day, a holiday honouring lovers. It is celebrated February 14th by the custom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection. The cards, known as valentines, are often designed with hearts to symbolize love. The holiday derives from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalis (February 15th). The festival gradually became associated with the feast day (February 14th) of two Roman martyrs, both named St. Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century. St. Valentine has traditionally been regarded as the patron saint of lovers.
Valentino - (Good Old Fashioned Loverboy) Rudolf Valentino, silent movie star - played Don Juan type characters. Stage name taken from St Valentine (see above)
Verisimilitude - From French - 'veri similis' like the truth; A word used in exchange for another with a similar meaning.
Vietnam - (Bicycle Race) Military struggle fought primarily in South Vietnam from 1959 to 1975. It began as an attempt by Communist guerrillas (the so-called Vietcong) in the South, backed by Communist North Vietnam, to overthrow the government of South Vietnam. The struggle widened into a war between South Vietnam and North Vietnam and ultimately into a limited international conflict. The U.S. and some 40 other countries supported South Vietnam by supplying troops and munitions, and the USSR and the People's Republic of China furnished munitions to North Vietnam and the Vietcong.
Watergate - (Bicycle Race) Designation of a major U.S. political scandal that began with the burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic party's campaign headquarters, later engulfed President Richard M. Nixon and many of his supporters in a variety of illegal acts, and culminated in the first resignation of a U.S. president.
Winters Tale - From the Shakespeare play of the same name.
Zoroastrianism - Religion founded in ancient Persia by the prophet Zoroaster. The doctrines preached by Zoroaster are preserved in his metrical Gathas (psalms), which form part of the sacred scripture known as the Avesta.
Tenets. The basic tenets of the Gathas consist of a monotheistic worship of Ahura Mazda (the "Lord Wisdom") and an ethical dualism opposing Truth (Asha) and Lie, which permeate the entire universe. All that is good derives from, and is supported by, Ahura Mazda's emanations: Spenta Mainyu (the "Holy Spirit" or "Incremental Spirit," a creative force) and his six assisting entities, Good Mind, Truth, Power, Devotion, Health, and Life. All evil is caused by the "twin" of Spenta Mainyu, who is Angra Mainyu (the "Fiendish Spirit"; Pers. Ahriman), and by his assistants. Angra Mainyu is evil by choice, having allied himself with Lie, whereas Spenta Mainyu has chosen Truth. So too, human beings must choose. Upon death each person's soul will be judged at the Bridge of Discrimination; the follower of Truth will cross and be led to paradise, and the adherents of Lie will fall into hell. All evil will eventually be eliminated on earth in an ordeal of fire and molten metal.
The Gathas and the Seven Chapters. The structural complexity of the Gathic scheme has best been explained by the assumption that Zoroaster amalgamated two religious systems. The first is outlined in the Gathas and is most probably Zoroaster's own; this is the monotheistic worship of Wisdom and his emanations (including Asha). The second, describing a cult worshiping a Lord (Ahura) who is custodian of Asha, is actually attested to in a portion of the Avesta, the Liturgy of the Seven Chapters, composed after Zoroaster's death in his own dialect. Zoroaster's teaching is praised and revered in the later section; its religious outlook, however, in part amalgamating earlier beliefs in Persia, is quite different from that of the Gathas. In the Seven Chapters, the emanations occur in the company of other sacred abstractions; Ahura has the epithet "possessing Asha," but Lie and Angra Mainyu are not mentioned. Many natural objects and mythical creatures, as well as ancestor spirits, are worshiped, and the very figure of Ahura Mazda resembles not so much Zoroaster's deity as the god Varuna (sometimes called the Asura, "Lord") of the most ancient Indian religious compositions, the Rig-Veda. The ancestors of the Persians (that is, the Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European peoples) and the invaders of northern India were of the same stock, and it may be assumed that they worshiped a number of similar deities. The Ahura of the Seven Chapters has wives, called Ahuranis, who, like Varuna's Varunanis, are rain clouds and waters. Ahura is possessor of Asha, as Varuna is custodian of Rta ("Truth" or "cosmic order" = Asha = Old Pers. Arta). The sun is the "eye" of both deities, and the name of Ahura is at times joined to that of the god Mithra. In the Veda, the names of Mithra and Varuna are similarly joined. The Seven Chapters also revere Haoma (Vedic, Soma), a divinized plant yielding an intoxicating juice (perhaps the "filth of intoxication" against which Zoroaster warned). The worship of ancestors and nature spirits and other deities (for example, the fire god, called Agni by the Hindus) likewise have Vedic correspondences.
The Yasna and the Vendidad. The Gathas and the Seven Chapters form part of the larger liturgy called the Yasna, the remainder of which is composed in another, closely related, dialect. This material further illustrates the incorporation of the Aryan polytheistic paganism into Zoroastrianism, as do the linguistically similar Yashts, which are hymns to individual deities. Among these deities is Anahita, a fertility and river goddess probably borrowed (as was, perhaps, the custom of incestuous marriages) from the non-Aryan Elamites. The latest part of the Avesta, the Vendidad or Videvdat, was composed after the Greek conquest of Persia in the 4th century BC, and is mainly a codification of ritual and law, somewhat similar in tone to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus. It reflects those customs attributed by the Greek historian Herodotus to the Magi, a priestly caste of Median origin. These customs include exposure of corpses, protection of dogs, and the gleeful slaughter of crawling animals. The Avesta was composed in eastern Persia, as may be judged from its language and place-names.
Recognition and History. Probably the first Persian king to recognize the religion proposed by Zoroaster was Darius I. His inscriptions are full of the praises of Ahura Mazda; he stresses rationality and seems to regard Lie as a world force. His son, Xerxes I, was also a worshiper of Ahura Mazda, but he probably had less of an understanding of the details of Zoroaster's religion. Most striking is his conception that Arta will be attained in the afterlife, which view reflects the old Aryan idea that Rta has a location beyond the earth. Artaxerxes I (r. 465-425 BC) was also a Mazda worshiper, but probably approved of a synthesis, under Magian direction, of Zoroaster's teachings with the older polytheism; this development is reflected in the syncretism of the Yashts. Artaxerxes II (r. 409-358 BC) venerated Ahura Mazda, Mithra, and Anahita; in his reign the first Persian temples were probably built. Under the rule of the Greek Seleucids (312-64 BC) and Parthian Arsacids (c. 250 BC-AD 266), cults of foreign gods flourished along with Zoroastrianism. The new Persian dynasty of the Sassanids (AD 226-641) established Zoroastrianism as the state religion of Persia. In the Sassanid theology, Ahriman was opposed to Ohrmuzd (Ahura Mazda), not to Spenta Mainyu. This theology had already appeared in the Magian system of the 4th century BC, according to Greek historians. Certain Sassanid theologians taught that Ohrmuzd and Ahriman were the twin sons of Infinite Time (Zervan), but this doctrine was eventually rejected. Persia was gradually converted to Islam after its conquest by the Arabs in the 7th century. Zoroastrianism survived, however, in small communities of Gabars (a derogatory term coined by the Arabs) in the mountainous regions of Yezd and Kerman. About 18,000 still live in Iran. Zoroastrians, called Parsis (q.v.; literally, Persians), are numerous and prosperous in India, chiefly in the vicinity of Bombay. They still recite the Avestan liturgy and tend the sacred fires, but today they prepare a nonintoxicant "haoma," and few still follow the Magian doctrine of placing corpses on raised edifices (the so-called towers of silence) to be the prey of vultures.