Philadelphia.
_"Prigging Tooth" or "Pugging Tooth."_--MR. COLLIER, in his new book on
Shakspeare, containing early manuscript corrections of the folio of 1632,
says at page 191., in enumerating those of the _Winter's Tale_, that the
emendator substitutes (Act IV. Sc. 2.) "prigging tooth" for the "pugging
tooth" of the old copies. Now this, I believe, has been the generally
received interpretation, but it is quite wrong. _Prigging_, that is
stealing, tooth, would be nonsense; _pugging_ is the correct word, and is
most expressive. Antolycus means his molar--his grinding tooth is set on
edge.
A pugging-mill (sometimes abbreviated and called pug-mill) is a machine for
crushing and tempering lime, consisting of two heavy rollers or wheels in a
circular trough; the wheels are hung loose upon the ends of a bar of iron
or axle-tree, which is fastened by the centre either to the top or bottom
of an upright spindle, moved by a horse or other power, as the case may be,
thus causing the wheels in their circuit to revolve from their friction
upon the trough, and so to bruise the nuts of lime, which together with the
sand and water are fed by a labourer, who removes the mortar when made. The
machine is of course variously constructed for the kind of work it has to
do: there is a pugging-mill used in the making of bricks that is fitted
with projecting knives to cut and knead the clay. {258}
EMENDATOR has doubtless restored the sense to many puzzling passages in
Shakspeare, but he certainly is mistaken here in reading _prigging_ for
_pugging_.