Volpone and Other Plays (80 page)

128
.
Mirror
: paragon. Note.

134
.
challenge
: accuse.

138
.
preposterously
: in the wrong order.

139
.
suffrage
: approval.

143
.
decorum
: literary term for fitness or appropriateness as between the form and the content of a work of art.

148
.
commodity
: quantity.

8
.
device
: verbal ingenuity.

9
.
ames-ace
: double ace, the lowest throw on two dice.

l2
.
quirk
: quip.

12
.
quiblin
: quibble, pun.

16
.
Jack
: servant or labourer.

19
.
convince
: overcome, impress.

20
.
beaver
: hat of beaver fur.

34
.
again'
: in anticipation of.

35
.
Unary
: a sweet wine.

38
.
poet-suckers
: young poets.

38
.
gossips
: friends.

4
.
apprehend
: think.

7
.
lace
: stripe.

15
.
melicotton
: a peach grafted on a quince.

25
.
hood, chain
: signs of rank (i.e. Mistress Overdo takes pride in her husband's office).

33
.
tokenworth
: a farthing's worth.

43
.
nativity-water cast
: here used of prediction by means of a horoscope.

44
.
cunning-men
: here fortune-tellers; elsewhere in Jonson magiciansand other charlatans.

46
.
sen'night
: week.

62
.
painful
: diligent.

62
.
sweet singers
: Puritans.

65
.
malmsey
: a sweet wine.

65
.
aqua cœlestis
: cordial.

72
.
Beast
: i.e. the Beast of
Revelation
, 13.

76
.
kembed
: combed.

77
.
proselyte
: preacher.

1
.
ta'en sou
: hunting torn for taken refuge or being run to earth.

11
.
lyam-hounds
: blood-hounds.

14
.
pluck hair o' the same wolf
: drink again today; modern version ‘hair of the dog that bit you'.

27
.
stained
: tipsy.

47
.
fall in
: become reconciled.

52
.
apple-John
: an apple eaten when shrivelled after two years keeping; pun on
apple-squire
– pimp.

54
.
respective
: respectable, conscious of manners.

56
.
come about
: come round to my opinion.

60
.
drawing after
: hunting by the scent.

61
.
tripe or trillibub
: entrails; used as a mocking term for someone fat.

64
.
buff
: leather, skin.

76
.
quartan ague
: a fever in which a paroxysm occurs every fourth day; malaria.

77
.
spinner
: spider.

79
.
'fore
: in preference to; Professor Horsman's emendation of ‘for' in Polio.

88
.
moderates
: prendes, arbitrates.

89
.
sentence
: pronouncement, wise saying.

93
.
apostle-spoon
: silver spoon – often gift at baptism – with an apostle portrayed on the handle.

94
.
caudle
: a warm and nourishing drink for invalids.

95
.
conveyed her estate
: made her estate over to someone else.

116
.
spiced
: over scrupulous.

116
.
bridals
: wedding feasts.

117
.
morrises
: morris-dances.

128
.
blue-starch-woman
: laundress (suggesting to the Puritans luxury and display; see Ananias on ‘that idol, starch',
The Alchemist
, III, ii, 823.)

135
.
profession
: declared religious faith.

138
.
prevented
: forestalled.

6
.
clerk
: cleric.

2
.
God you
: God give you.

6
.
saved by my book
: Note.

16
.
Numps
: familiar contraction of Humphrey.

21
.
mark
: thirteen shillings and fourpence.

32
.
keeps such a coil
: makes such a fuss.

37
.
both-hands
: guardian, nurse.

49
.
turd i' your teeth
: an insulting exclamation; turd = shit.

51
.
glisters
: clysters, enema-tubes.

51
.
I wusse
: certainly; I know for sure.

53
,
velvet-custard
: custard = an open meat (or fruit) pie; here, a pie-shaped hat.

59
.
stale
: initiate (of animals).

68
.
puddings
: sausages (usage still current in Scotland – e.g. ‘black puddings').

73
.
carman
: carter.

73
.
I find him not talk
: I do not distract him with conversation.

75
.
bees: crazy
notions; cf. ‘bees in his bonnet'.

78
.
hood
: the sign of Overdo's office as a Justice.

86
.
cross and pile
: a toss-up.

102
.
gib-cat
: tom-cat.

106
.
little long-coats
: children in petticoats.

112
.   
reading
: interpretation.

9
.   
'Sprecious;
by God's precious blood.

12
.
exorbitant
: abnormal, troublesome.

14
.  
Marrygip
: the oath'by Mary of Egypt', confused with 'gee up!'to ahorse.

15
.  
French-hood
: a fashionable head-dress.

17
.   
Regent
: deputy for a governor. See I, iv, 79.

46
.
cosset
: pet lamb, spoilt child.

58
.
fidge
: fidget, move restlessly.

74
.
over-buy
: pay too much for; here, buy too much of.

84
.
'Slid
: by God's eyelid.

93
.
Sir Cranion
: crane-fly or daddy-long-legs.

98
.
contumacious
: quarrelsome, insubordinate.

110
.
stone
, testicle.

112
.
Cather'ne-pear: mall
, early pear; see IV, ii.

119
.
tamers
: hinderers.

125
.
quality
: social rank; Cokes then uses ‘qualities' to mean moral characteristics.

127
.
apprehension
: understanding.

138
.
motion-man
: puppet-master.

148
.
cut thy lace
: i.e. of her bodice or stays.

150
.
makt me unready
: undress.

151
.
strait-laced
: both with stays or bodice tightly laced and careful in morality.

154
. 
elect
: predestined to heaven.

158
.
mother
: Jacobean pun on literal and metaphorical meanings – pregnancy and hysteria.

8
.
unclean beast
: Puritans took the Old Testament literally.

15
.
motion
: urging, prompting.

54
.
spice
: species, kind.

56
.
high places
: biblical association with the worship of idols, as in
Leviticus
, xxvi, 30 (Horsman).

68
.
face
: outward appearance.

98
.
away with
: agree with.

2
.
commonwealth
: the commonweal, the general good.

3
.
fitted
: equipped, disguised.

6
.
quorum
: those justices of the peace whose presence was necessary to constitute a bench.

15
.
dog-killer
: man appointed to kill stray dogs as suspect carriers of the plague, especially in hot summers.

32
.
pursuivant
: official with powers to execute warrants for arrest.

32
.
seminary
: recusant priest trained in europe in a catholic seminary.

34
.
intelligence
: information.

35
.
intelligencers
: informers.

39
.
pie-powders
: Note.

1
.
pestilence-dead
: as deserted as if the plague had closed it (as happened in 1603).

15
.
parcel-poet
: past poet.

15
.
inginer
: inventor, deviser of shows.

16
.
cattel
: property.

17
.
arsedine
: imitation gold-leaf used to decorate toys.

18
.
take down
: humiliate.

19
.
charm
: subdue.

31
.
gilt
: ‘Gold leaf was used to decorate ginger-bread (hence Trash's jibe at Leatherhead's “arsedine”)' – Professor Horsman.

36
.
wading
: staggering.

46
.
faucet
: tap for drawing liquor out of a barrel.

56
.
secretary
: a confidant.

65
.
changeling
: stupid or ugly child left by fairies in exchange for an attractive one.

69
.
stot
: a stupid, clumsy person (Horsman's leading of
stole
).

71
.
pinnace
: go-between or whore.

81
.
incubée
: incubus - possibly here the offspring of a human being and an evil spirit.

89
.
colts-foot
: a herb used to adulterate tobacco.

90
.
be to seek
: be at a loss.

91
.
advance
: raise.

95
.
skink
: pour.

125
.
aunt
: gossip or old woman; here possibly euphemism for bawd.

134
.
handsel
: first takings of the day - thought to be lucky.
Jordan
: derisive nickname; literally, chamber-pot.

1
.
she-bear: ursa
is Latin for bear.

5
.
heavy hill
: i.e. Holborn Hill, part of the route from Newgate to the gallows at Tyburn.

13
.
horse-leeches
: literally farriers or bloodsuckers; figuratively predatory persons.

23
.
vapours
: Note.

28
.
horn-thumb
: the thimble worn by a cutpurse to protect his thumb from the knife's edge.

35
.
toy
: whim.

39
.
after-game
: a second game played to give the loser a chance of reversing the result of the first.

43
.
motion
: physical exertion.

44
.
tusk
: meaning uncertain; 'show the teeth' (Partridge), 'form into a tuft' (Horsman).

44
.
dibble;
a spade-beard.

52
.
found'ring
, etc: an eruptive disease caused by overeating or overwork; in horses it is caused by allowing them to drink when overheated.

54
.
keep state
: act as befits your dignity; act royally.

55
.
taken up
: reduced.

7
.  
mousetrap
: the Tinderbox-nian is synonymous with the Mousetrap-man in 'The Persons of the Play'.

7
.  
tormentor
: trap.

12
.
Ferret, Coney
: underworld jargon for confidence-trickster and dupe.

14
.
Goose-green
: yellowish-green, symbolizing pride.

20
.
mart
: marketing.

35
.
purchase
: booty.

36
.
conveyance
: theft.

43
.
fly…toa mark
: hawking term used when a falcon indicates to the falconer the spot where its prey disappeared from view.

53
.
smocks, whimsies
: wenches.

58
.
passionate
: sorrowful.

58
.
wept out an eye
: a sign that a pig is nearly roasted.

63
.
policy
: craftiness.

65
.
strange woman
: biblical phrase for harlot.

68
.
store
: plenty.

9
.   
comfortable bread
: sustaining, or possibly spiced (i.e. ginger-), bread.

13
.
chapmen
: customers.

24
  
roaring
: riotous.

26
.
'slud
: by God's blood.