old boiler?? a cigarette even though she had eaten hardly any of the stewed chicken that Sylvie had cooked for lunch. Sylvie had killed the bird this morning to ‘celebrate’ the return of ‘the prodigal son’. (Again, he thought. Was this to be his role in life? The eternal prodigal?) ‘Hardly prodigal,’ Teddy said defensively. ‘I’ve been learning to fight a war.’ ‘Yet, lo, we have killed the fatted chicken to welcome you back,’ Ursula said. ‘More like an old boiler,’ Izzie said. ‘Takes one to know one.’ From Sylvie, of course. Izzie pushed her plate away and Sylvie said, ‘I hope you’re going to finish that. That chicken died for you.’ Ursula gave a little yelp of derision and Teddy winked at her. Yet it seemed wrong to be happy without Hugh here. For " old boiler", i would like to know whether it means "the stewed chicken is not delicious". Thanks.