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. salvâ reverentiâ, 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, diarrhœa, 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.