faints and worms -  

faints are the "impure spirits" that come through a still.  Worms are the condensing coils of a still.  James Joyce's father, John, worked as Secretary of a distillery that made "Dublin Whiskey" in Chapelizod.  Vivien Igoe, in James Joyce's Dublin Houses reports that "John Joyce was always 'talking of feints and worms'...and had 'endless stories about the distillery'  like Old Cotter."