The Merry Wives of Windsor (36 page)

⁷⁷
that
so that

⁸³
knaves, his hinds
servants (both terms may also be derogatory)

⁸⁹
held
withheld

⁹¹
mark
note

⁹²
several
separate

⁹³
detected with
discovered by

⁹³
rotten
diseased

⁹³
bell-wether
ram (sometimes castrated) wearing a bell around his neck as a means of leading the flock

⁹⁴
compassed
surrounded/bent over like a strong sword

⁹⁴
bilbo
sword from Bilbao, town in Spain noted for excellent sword manufacture

⁹⁴
peck
two-gallon container used to store dry goods

⁹⁵
stopped
shut, stoppered

⁹⁶
distillation
concentrated substance

⁹⁶
fretted
became corroded/fermented

⁹⁷
kidney
constitution/nature

⁹⁹
dissolution
melting/dissolving (puns on the sense of “loose living”)

¹⁰¹
Dutch dish
the Dutch were supposedly very fond of butter

¹⁰⁵
good sadness
all seriousness

¹⁰⁸
Etna
volcano in Sicily

¹¹¹
embassy
message

¹²⁰
hole … coat
i.e. even I have a fault (proverbial; possibly with sexual connotations)

¹²⁵
halfpenny purse
small purse for small coins

¹²⁷
what I am
i.e. a cuckold

¹³⁰
horn-mad
wildly enraged, like a horned beast/madly jealous like a cuckold

²
by this
by this time

³
courageous
vigorously/extremely, or possibly a malapropism for “outrageous(ly)”

⁴
suddenly
immediately

⁷
playing-day
holiday

⁹
is … play
i.e. has asked that the boys be given a holiday, the privilege of a visitor to the school

¹³
accidence
principles of Latin grammar; the following examples are drawn from William Lilly and John Colet’s
A Short Introduction of Grammer
, the official prescribed text for schools

¹⁸
Two
i.e. single and plural

²⁰
‘Od’s nouns’
Quickly is confusing the abbreviated phrase “by God’s (i.e. Christ’s) wounds” with the idea of odd numbers

²¹
Peace your tattlings!
Leave off your prattling!

²³
Polecats
weasel-like animals/whores (pronounced in a more similar manner than today, Quickly is confusing the word with the Latin
pulcher
)

³³
articles
i.e. the (definite article) or a/an (indefinite article)

³⁴
Articles …
hoc
a direct quotation from Lilly’s
Grammer

³⁴
pronoun
part of speech used to designate an object without naming it directly; e.g. “this/that”

³⁶
Singulariter
in the singular
nominativo
in the nominative case
hic, haec, hoc
common Latin pronouns

³⁷
genitivo
the genitive case (is)

³⁹
hinc
the correct form is in fact
hunc
, though Evans fails to spot this (unless his subsequent
hing is
a printer’s error for
hung
)

⁴¹
hing, hang, hog
i.e.
hunc, hanc, hoc

⁴²
“Hang-hog”
hanging up a pig is necessary to produce bacon

⁴³
prabbles
silly chatter/irritating interruptions

⁴³
focative
i.e. vocative; Evans’s pronunciation inadvertently plays on “fuck”

⁴⁴
case
plays on the sense of “vagina”

⁴⁵
O
suggestive of the vagina

⁴⁶
caret
Latin for “is missing”; Quickly’s response shows that she hears the word as “carrot,” which, along with
root
, is slang for “penis”

⁵³
horum
plays on “whore”

⁵³
harum
plays on “hare” (another slang term for a prostitute)

⁵⁴
Vengeance of
a plague upon

⁵⁴
Ginny’s case
Quickly misunderstands “genitive case” as “this woman Ginny’s case (vagina)”

⁵⁸
hick … hack
drink (hiccup) and to go whoring/to have sex (with whores)

⁶⁵
declension
the variation of a pronoun etc. through its different cases

⁶⁹
preeches
breeched (i.e. whipped on the buttocks)

⁷²
sprag
i.e. sprack (smart/alert)

²
sufferance
suffering

⁴
obsequious
compliant/dutiful

⁴
office
role/(sexual) performance

⁴
accoutrement
adornments, apparel

⁵
complement
accompanying etiquette

⁵
sure of
secure from

⁸
gossip
friend

¹²
people
i.e. servants

¹⁷
lines
tricks

¹⁸
takes on
rants

²⁰
complexion
appearance/coloring

²¹
Peer out
i.e. show yourselves (addressed to his cuckold’s horns)

²³
to
compared to

³⁰
experiment
trial

³⁸
bestow
dispose of/stow (him) away

⁴⁴
what make you
what are you doing

⁴⁶
use … birding-pieces
make it a custom to fire their guns

⁴⁷
kiln-hole
opening to the oven

⁵⁰
abstract
list

⁵⁴
semblance
appearance

⁵⁹
muffler
scarf covering part of the face and the neck

⁶¹
mischief
injury, misfortune

⁶²
Brentford
originally “Brainford,” a village between Windsor and London, known for amorous assignations

⁶³
above
upstairs

⁶⁵
thrummed
fringed/with a shaggy surface

⁶⁸
look
look for

⁶⁹
straight
straight away

⁷⁰
the while
in the meantime

⁷²
shape
outward appearance/disguise

⁷⁸
good sadness
all seriousness

⁷⁹
intelligence
information

⁸⁰
try
test

⁸⁷
dishonest
deceitful, lecherous

⁸⁹
honest
chaste, virtuous

⁹⁰
act
actually commit misdeeds/have sex

⁹¹
still
quiet

⁹¹
draff
swill, leftovers given to pigs

⁹³
hard at
close by/right at the

⁹⁴
dispatch
hurry

⁹⁷
as lief
rather

⁹⁹
Ay … again?
Ford’s reply to whatever Page has just said—presumably something to the effect of “if it prove false that Falstaff is there, you will look like a fool”

¹⁰³
panderly
pimping/go-between

¹⁰³
gin
gang

¹⁰⁴
Now … shamed
i.e. now the truth will out (proverbial: “speak the truth and shame the devil”)

¹⁰⁷
passes
surpasses/is excessive

¹⁰⁸
be pinioned
have your wings clipped

¹¹⁸
hold it out
keep up your deception

¹³²
flea’s death
i.e. a miserable death/he shall be crushed like a parasitic insect

¹³⁵
fidelity
faith

¹⁴²
show … extremity
offer no excuse for my extreme behavior

¹⁴³
table-sport
joke among company

¹⁴⁴
leman
lover

¹⁵¹
quean
hussy/whore

¹⁵¹
cozening
cheating

¹⁵²
of
on

¹⁵³
under the profession
in the name

¹⁵⁵
by th’figure
by drawing up horoscopes

¹⁵⁵
daubery
trickery

¹⁵⁶
element
understanding (literally, the element in which one rightfully belongs)

¹⁶⁰
Mother Prat
prat means “a trick” though it was also slang for the buttocks

¹⁶¹
prat
practice tricks on/beat (or simply a nonce-word derived from the name)

¹⁶²
rag
worthless wretch

¹⁶²
runnion
abusive term for a woman, perhaps “mangy old bag”

¹⁶⁶
’Tis … you
i.e. that will reflect well on you (said in irony)

¹⁶⁸
By … no
a very mild oath (moderated from the Quarto text’s stronger “By Jesu”)

¹⁷²
cry … trail
bark like a hunting dog when there is in fact no scent

¹⁷³
open
bark loudly at a scent

¹⁷⁴
obey his humour
humor him

¹⁷⁹
hallowed
blessed/dedicated to God

¹⁸⁰
meritorious
deserving of reward

¹⁸¹
warrant
assurance/authorization (with play on the legal sense: “document authorizing a judicial sentence”)

¹⁸⁴
wantonness
lust

¹⁸⁵
fee-simple
absolute possession (legal term used of land or property)

¹⁸⁵
fine and recovery
legal procedures employed to transfer the ownership of land

¹⁸⁶
waste
legal term referring to the damage or alteration of land or property by a tenant (puns on “waist”)

¹⁸⁸
served
treated (with a play on the sense of “had sex with”)

¹⁹¹
figures
fantasies

¹⁹³
ministers
agents

¹⁹⁵
period
conclusion

¹⁹⁷
forge

¹⁹⁷
shape it
i.e. as one would mold hot iron in the

⁹
sauce them
make them pay overly high prices

⁹
at command
at their disposal

¹⁰
come off
pay up

¹
’Tis …’oman
she is one of the most prudent/sensible women

³
an instant
the same time

⁸
heretic
unbeliever/holder of unorthodox religious beliefs

²⁴
use
treat/behave toward

²⁶
Herne the hunter
huntsman of great skill who was wounded after saving the king from a vicious stag; his own life was saved when the dead beast’s antlers were tied to his head, but he was later framed for or caught poaching and hanged himself from an oak in Windsor Great Park, which he is said to haunt