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.
Dump, ill of ease, melancholy: now obsolete in the singular.
Everychone, everyone.
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.