AND, if.
APERN, apron: the usual early form of the word.
ARRAYED, (_a_) disconcerted, afflicted, put out. (_b_)
bespattered.
AVENTURE, venture, risk, wager.
A-WREAK, avenge.
BACK SIDE, at the back of the house, backyard.
BALD, short for bald-head, bald-pate: a generic term of abuse.
BALKS, beams, rafters, an overhead rack used for storing bacon.
BEDLAM, a crazy beggar, real or assumed: properly a
convalescent from Bethlehem Hospital, an asylum for lunatics
since 1547. Many of these unfortunates, being either unable or
unwilling to work, adopted vagrancy as a profession, the Simon
Pures being avouched by an official arm-badge. These were
considerably augmented by the often deserving (but more
frequently spurious) poor who had, until the dissolution of the
monasteries, been the special care of the religious.
BET, the old past tense of _beat_: still dialectical.
BLEST, bliss.
BODY-LOUSE, proud, conceited, fine. Later we get _"brisk as a
body-louse"_ (Ray).
BONABLE, abominable.
BOOTS, avails, profits, is of advantage, matters.
BORROW, pledge, security.
BOULOGNE, _Our dear Lady of Boulogne,_ the image of the Virgin
Mary at Boulogne, formerly in so much reverence that
pilgrimages were made to it.
BRAWL, brat, offspring.
BREAD AND SALT, a common sixteenth-century oath, probably as
symbolising the necessaries of life.
BURSTING, breaking.
BY AND BY, immediately.
CALLET, a lewd woman, drab, scold.
CANDLE, "a _candle_ shall they have a piece." In all cases of
distress it was usual with Roman Catholics to promise their
tutelary saints to light up candles at their altars.
CHAD, see Cham.
CHAM, I am. The rustic dialect in the piece is conventional,
but its general peculiarities are those of the south-western
counties: _iche_ = I, reduced to _ch_ in _cham_, _chould_, or
_chwold_ (I would), _chwere_, &c. The south-western _v_ for _f_
is not generally used, but occurs in _vylthy_, _vast_, and in
_vathers_; _glaye_ (p. 5) for clay is probably not genuine
dialect.
CHANNOT, see Cham.
CHAVE, see Cham.
CHILL, see Cham.
CHOLD, I hold. _To hold a noble_ = to wager or bet.
CHOPE, see Cham.
CHWOLD, see Cham.
CLOTH, "painted on a _cloth_," the cloth hangings of taverns on
which were depicted such popular themes as the Nine Worthies,
the Prodigal Son, and, as in this case, Friar Rush (_q.v._).
COAT, see Walk.
COCK'S BODY, COCK'S PASSION, COCK'S PRECIOUS, &c., a corruption
of God: euphemistic.
COCK'S MOTHER (p. 44), see previous entry: the reader must not
fall into the error of thinking that Gammer Gurton is here
meant.
COLOGNE, "the three kings of _Cologne_." These are supposed to
have been the wise men who travelled to Bethlehem by the
direction of the star. To these kings have been given the names
of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.
COMMODITY, a word which formerly had plenty to do: anything
that afforded advantage, interest, or convenience was
_commodity_--profit, interest, accommodation, opportunity,
wares, goods, movables, and even harlots.
COSTARD, (_a_) the head, pate.
(_b_) a large kind of apple.
COUNSEL, in secrecy, confidence.
COX, a coxcomb, fool: jesters formerly wore a cap surmounted by
a comb or crest resembling that of a cock: cf. cokes = fool.
CRAB, _i.e._ a roasted crabapple put in a bowl of ale: it
served a double purpose, to flavour and also to "chill" the
beverage.
CRUST, crushed.
CULLION, poltroon, base contemptible fellow: a generic term of
abuse.
CURTAL, a short-tailed horse, one docked in the tail.
CUT, a gelding: hence of both sexes, but specifically of women.
DAINTRELS, dainties, delicacies, luxuries.
DAISY, "leap at a _daisy_," be hanged. The allusion is to a
story of a man who, when the noose was adjusted round his neck,
leapt off with the words, "Have at yon daisy that grows
yonder."
DEFY, refuse, deny, renounce.
DICCON, a nickname for Richard: see Bedlam.
DISEASE, anxiety, trouble: originally general in meaning =
absence of ease.
DOAT, rave, act the fool.
DOCK, tail, backside: _i.e._ get his backside kicked.
DODGE, "ga' me the _dodge_," _i.e._ cheated, tricked me.
DRAB, a generic reproach--strumpet, slattern, slut.
DRESS'D, served out, done for.
EVERYCHONE, everyone.
DUMP, ill of ease, melancholy: now obsolete in the singular.
EKE, also, besides, likewise, moreover: still occasional in
poetry.
FELLOW, (_a_) "originally a courteous mode of addressing a
servant, like the French _mon ami_: here _fellow_ = comrade"
(Bradley).
(_b_) "Not thy _fellow_, but thy dame," _i.e._ not thy equal,
but thy mistress.
FILTH, vile person: a strong reproach.
FLYING FIEND, the devil.
FORTY, generic for an indefinite number: forty pence (or ten
groats) = the sum commonly offered for a small wager. Several
law fees were fixed at that sum, viz., 3s. 4d.; and when money
was reckoned by pounds, marks, and nobles, forty pence was just
the half-noble, or the sixth of a pound.
FOX, "allured by the _fox_," see _History of Reynard the Fox_
(1701), vii. (Steevens).
FRIAR RUSH, the principal character in a popular folk-lore
story translated from the German. The devil, in friar's garb,
seeking to corrupt a convent of monks by delicious fare,
assumes human shape, knocks at the door, and is admitted as
cook's boy. A favourable opportunity enabling him to dispose of
his chief in a boiling cauldron, he is appointed to his place.
The virtue of the convent is now at his mercy: the monks forget
prayer and fasting over Ruus' exquisite cookery. Strife and
wantonness creep in, and the monks are all but lost, when a
peasant who has involuntarily overheard a conclave of devils
discussing Ruus, discloses his true nature. The abbot,
summoning all the monks into the church, seizes Ruus,
transforms him into a red horse, and commits him to the power
of hell (Herford). There are several versions, the earliest
known English one bearing date 1620, but the Stationers'
Company registers show it as entered in 1568-9. That the story
was extremely popular is obvious from numerous contemporary
allusions.
GAFFER, formerly a respectful address, but now in contempt: a
corruption of _granfer_, itself a corruption of _grandfather_.
The co-relative is _gammer_ (_q.v._).
GAMMER, an old wife, old lady: formerly, like _gaffer_ (which
see), a respectful address. _Gammer_ = grammer = grandmother.
GEAR, a word, if not of-all-work, with plenty to do--goods,
property in general, outfit, tools, necessaries, materials,
stuffs, matters, business, affairs, manners, habits, customs,
rubbish, trash--all are included: sometimes = affair,
contention.
GIB, (_a_) a generic name for male cats: hence a common
reproach.
(_b_) "To set the gib forward" = to expedite matters:
proverbial.
GIS, GYS, JIS, &c., Jesus: supposed by some to be a corruption
of the letters I.H.S. anciently set on altars, covers of books,
&c., to denote the name of Jesus: rather, however, from the
name itself.
GITTEN, got.
GLAY, see Cham.
GLOOMING, sulking: cf. "glum."
GOD, "God 'ield you" (p. 143a), _i.e._ God yield you = God
reward you: the compositor has duplicated the _d_ of _God_ in
the next word: cf. _Good den_, _God deven_ = good e'en.
GOG'S (_passim_), God's. Thus, Gog's blest, Gog's bones, Gog's
bread, Gog's cross, Gog's malison, Gog's sacrament, Gog's
sides, Gog's soul, Gog's wounds.
GOOD, property.
GOSSIP, a sponsor in baptism: hence an intimate acquaintance,
neighbour.
GRAMMERCY, an exclamation of surprise and thanks: Fr. _grand
merci_.
HALSE, neck, throat.
HAVE, behave.
HODDEPEAK, fool, cuckold.
HOLD, wager, bet.
HONESTY, the honest sort of people.
HOOD, "I can drink With him that wears a _hood_," _i.e._ a
friar; an allusion to their notoriously drunken habits.
INOWE, enough.
I-WIS, I-WYS, certainly, indeed, truly.
JAKES, privy, cesspool: Gammer racks her vocabulary for terms
of reproach.
JAPE, jest, joke.
JET, JETTETH, in modern phrase to put on "side" (in word or
act), brag, strut, vaunt, swagger: also in a weaker sense = to
go.
KIND, nature.
LEAD, copper.
LESE, lose.
LET, hindrance, hinder: archaic except in the phrase "without
let or hindrance."
LEVE, dear, beloved: _i.e. lief_.
LICKDISH, parasite.
LITHER, sluggish, spiritless, or as Hazlitt says "wicked," but
the true reading is an open question.
LONGS, is appropriate to, fitting for, beseeming.
LOOSE-BREECH, a slovenly lout.
LOSE (p. 27), read _lese_ for the rhyme.
LOSEL, a generic reproach--profligate, rake, scoundrel; and (in
weakened form) ne'er-do-well, good-for-nothing.
MALT-WORM, tippler, toper.
MAS, a vulgar or jocular shortening of _master_, usually
followed by a proper name or official title: also Mast.
MASTERDOM, mastership.
MELL, meddle, fight, interfere.
MEVE, move.
MINDS, intends, purposes.
MINIONS, wantons, strumpets: also in a weaker sense, favourite,
darling.
MO, more.
MOILING, ado, toiling.
MOT, may.
NARSE, one of many instances in which _n_ is found prefixed to
a word properly commencing with a vowel: cf. _newt_,
_nickname_, _nuncle_; also the converse flexion omitting _n_,
_adder_, _apron_, _umpire_, _orange_, for _nadder_, _napron_,
_numpire_, _norange_.
NAWL, awl: see previous entry.
NE, nor.
NEAR, nearer.
NICELY, carefully, quietly, gently.
NOBLE, coin value 6s. 8d.: see Chold and Hold.
NOTHER, neither, nor.
ON-LIVE, alive, of which on-live is an earlier form.
OR, ere.
OUGHT, owed.
PAD, see Straw.
PALTER, to speak indistinctly, mumble.
PARTS, parties.
PARTY, person: once literary but now vulgar.
PATCH, (_a_) fool, buffoon, jester: the nickname of Cardinal
Wolsey's domestic fool, whose real name was Sexton. Murray
suggests the influence of It. _pazzo_ (= fool), combined with
the motley wear of professional buffoons.
(_b_), beat, drub, "dust."
PATINS, "it went on _patins_" (p. 27), _i.e._ a great clatter
was made: often used figuratively of the tongue.
PERFIT, perfect.
PES, hassock: an East Anglian word.
PIGSNIE, an endearment.
PILD, stripped, shorn: whether by shaving or disease.
PILL, plunder, strip.
PIN, latch, bolt.
PISSING WHILE, a short time.
PLANCH, to plank on: _i.e._ to plaster by patching all round.
POUPED, deceived.
PRANCOME, anything odd or strange, a trick, device.
PUDDINGS, entrails, guts.
PULLEN, poultry.
QUEAN, a wanton.
RAKES (p. 32), a term of abuse: not found elsewhere, and
seemingly chosen because of the jingle: cf. the whole passage.
Possibly an abbreviated form of Rakehell or Rakeshame.
RAMP, wanton, strumpet.
RAVE, talk wildly, without thought.
RECEIVER (p. 51), "perhaps we should read _recetter_ for the
sake of the rhyme" (Bradley).
RECHLESS, "swear to Diccon, _rechless_" (p. 19), reckless:
_i.e._ without reservation, not minding the sense of the
humorous oath which the Baily administers. Another example of
similar fooling is the Highgate oath which travellers toward
London were required to take at a certain tavern at
Highgate--that they would not prefer small beer before strong,
unless indeed they liked the small better; never to kiss the
maid if they could kiss the mistress, unless the maid was
prettier; and other statements of a similar kind.
REED, (_a_) rood.
(=b=) counsel, advice.
RIG, strumpet.
RIGHT SIDE, "thou rose not on thy _right side_" (p. 17), _i.e._
"you did not commence the day well," "you are not lucky."
ROMTH, room, space.
ROTTEN, rat.
RUSH, see Friar Rush.
ST. CHARITY, a known saint among Roman Catholics.
ST. DOMINIC, the founder of the order of Dominicans or Black
Friars: the order was approved by Pope Innocent III. in 1215,
and was established in London, building the Convent of the
Blackfriars in 1276: the name is perpetuated in the bridge.
SCABB'D HORSE, sorry "screw" of a horse: _scabb'd_ and _scald_
(q.v.) are synonymous, and both are used in contempt.
SCALD, scabby, mean, sorry: hence _scald squire_ = a term of
contempt; _scald_ (or _skald_), subs. = a mean wretch.
SEVEN, proverbial, according to the context, for an indefinite
length of time.
SHAVE, extort, strip, cheat.
SHOEING-HORN, a pretext, an incitement.
SHREVE, shrive, confess, absolve: _shreve_ by poetic licence.
SHREW, (_a_) curse, call over the coals.
(_b_) the word was formerly applied in contempt to both sexes.
SHRIVE, confess: see Shreve.
SIKERLY, securely, certainly.
SIR JOHN, a priest.
SIR REVERENCE, an apology on mentioning anything for which an
excuse was thought necessary. Lat. _salva reverentia_, whence
sa' reverence, sur-reverence, and sir-reverence.
SITH, SITHENS, since, because.
SLIP, neglect.
SMELL, detect, understand, "twig."
SMOLDERS, smothers.
SORT, company, assembly.
SOSSING, dashing, sousing.
SPURRIER, harness-maker.
SQUIRT, diarrhoea, squitters.
STEWED WHORE, a foundered jade of the stews.
STICK, be scrupulous, hesitate.
STOUND, trouble, disaster, blow: also interval, time, station,
place--hence, generally, circumstances, exigence, situation.
STOUR, uproar, tumult.
STRAW, "a pad in the _straw_," toad: _i.e._ something lurking
or hidden.
SWINK, labour, drudgery.
SWYTH, with vigour and speed, promptly, quickly.
TAR-LEATHER, a term of abuse.
THE, "so mote I _the_," so may I thrive.
THROAT-BOLE, gullet, windpipe.
TOSSING, first-rate, sharp.
T'OU, thou.
TOWN, "the ground attached to the house: cf. Scots _toun_"
(Bradley).
TOYS, generic for trifles, persons, and things of little
importance, tricks, fancies, &c.
TROT, old woman; usually in contempt, and = drab, slut,
strumpet.
TROWL, "_trowl_ to me the bowl" (p. 15), a common phrase in
drinking for passing the vessel about.
TRUMP, the card game of triumph.
TWENTY DEVIL WAY, a favourite malediction: _i.e._ in the name
of twenty devils.
TWO-LEGGED FOX, a thief, _two-legged cat_ is a colloquialism
which is still of service in everyday speech as a retort to
blame put on a cat for stealing--"a _two-legged cat_, then!"
WASHICAL, _i.e._ What shall I call [it]; in modern guise,
Whatch-em-may-call-it, &c.
WEET, learn, know.
WESE, we shall.
WHEWLING, crying, blubbering, fretful.
WIDE, wide of the mark: cf. modern slang usage = well-informed,
clever, &c.
WOLL, will.
YEDE, went.
R. CLAY AND SONS, LTD., BREAD ST. HILL, E.C., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
The Museum Dramatists
REPRINTS OF NOTABLE PLAYS
_Each Volume complete in itself, with Introduction, Glossary, and
Facsimile Title-pages_
Price per Vol., boards, =1/6= net; cloth, =2/-= net
The Initial Volumes are:--
1. Gammer Gurton's Needle.
2. Heywood's (J.) Four P.P. and The Pardoner and the Frere.
3. Every Man.
4. Tom Tiler and his Wife.
_These will be followed by others selected from the following_:--
Calisto and Melibaea
Jack Juggler
John John the Husband, Tib his Wife, and Sir John the Priest
Grim the Collier of Croydon
The Puritan, or the Widow of Watling Street
(Pseudo-Shakespearian)
Fair Em (Pseudo-Shakespearian)
Hickscorner
Thersites
Patient Grissel
The Three Ladies of London
The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London
The Two Angry Women of Abingdon
A Knack to Know a Knave
Warning to Fair Women
Dr. Dodypoll
The Miseries of Enforced Marriage
The Nice Wanton
The Play of Love
Wine, Beer, and Ale
&c., &c., &c.
End of Project Gutenberg's Gammer Gurton's Needle, by Mr. S. Mr. of Art