Tell you somefin' (only don’t blame me for my r-rushin' style).
Actually I am not aware of any rules here. The following is just to explain what I personally think.
I'm here to have a look at people translating things (wondering if I could pick up a hint or two). And I guess your true translator won't ever dream of adding his own stuff to the translated author. As soon as he does so dream ... bang ... that's not translation. And whatever is not translation falls beyond the scope of my interests - that's what I thought when skipping your, no doubt, wonderfully written passage.
Do you want to play with words where Wodehouse doesn't or add sentences to his text? It's fun, and absolutely fine with me (and, I'm sure, with Петр Иваныч too), but then you create an independent story (based on the lines of the original) and must be subjected to the judgement of any real students of the art who would care to look into your work. I really shouldn't like to read an excerpt from a story based on "The Man with Two Left Feet" not written by the author of the same. Firstly, I've read the original (and frankly speaking it boned me to the bore (hopefully gmk won’t have these words of mine translated:)). Secondly, I don't expect anyone to improve on Wodehouse - the contingency is a remote one (c). And there are more reasons not to read or comment on literary efforts marked with the "Да простят мне отсебятину и PGW и KDM" sign. So I just pointed out what I could and didn’t “see something else here” because I did not look for “something else”.
Теперь по делу:
>>"упасть" может быть превратно истолковано - exactly! Playing with words and meanings.
Мне кажется, что Вудхауз не так играет словами. По-моему, он более прямолинейно обыгрывает устойчивые выражения, и получается смешно. А у Вас, ИМХО, просто усложняется фраза. При чтении нужно сосредоточиться, чтобы правильно сделать смысловую паузу и отнести это "упасть" куда следует.
>>"Первое появление на паркете обязательно должно произвести эффект..." Марис Лиепа
Лиепа ни при чем. "Инвалид скользил** на паркете" звучит нескладно ("скользить" и "на" вообще, по-моему, плохо сочетаются). Плюс еще добавлено примечание. Все это делает совершенно проходную фразу несколько тяжеловесной, а взамен ничего не дает.
Toodle-oo
P.S. Being profoundly amateurish and (at times) distinctly arrogant (ask Nally:), I like to have as much fun at other people’s expense as I’m allowed to (and a bit more :). So if you ever need an opinion of an arrogant amateur – feel free to ask me.