concept
Persian powder
also: Персидский порошок
An insecticide powder made from dried pyrethrum flowers, used in the period against fleas and bedbugs; the father is sprinkling it on his pillow when he delivers his rambling marriage counsel.
Reading notes
- Before the Wedding §7 Persian powder
An insecticide powder made from dried pyrethrum flowers, used against fleas and bedbugs -- the undignified, domestic detail the father is caught in mid-task before his solemn speech.
- A Chip Off the Old Block §4 the Persian powder
An insecticide made from dried pyrethrum flowers, the standard period remedy against fleas and bedbugs; Grandfather's complaint that the narrator failed to buy it is the comic pretext for his tirade.