Line 575. Kee pickpurse.—This expression seems to be a quotation from 1 Henry IV. ii. 1, 53:
"Gads. What, ho! Chamberlain!
Cham. (within). At hand, quoth pick-purse."
I am told that the colloquial use of kee, or quy, for quoth, is frequent in certain parts of Scotland; but I can find no literary example of the form, and it is hard to account for its presence in this passage. The scribal substitution of quy for the abbreviated quoth might easily occur, the thorn-letter being erroneously transcribed by y, as in the; but this cannot have given rise to any M. E. phonetic change such as the spelling kee certainly implies.
Line 587. Spurrgald.—Cf. Richard II. v. 5, 94.
Line 588. Jolthead, blockhead, dunce. See Two Gentlemen of Verona, iii. 1, 290,—"Fie on thee, jolt-head! Thou canst not read." Also Taming of the Shrew, iv. 1, 169.
Line 590. Rooke = cheat or sharper, and is used as a general term of contempt. See Every Man in his Humour, i. 5, 89,—"Hang him, rook!" The host of the Garter frequently addresses his familiars as "bully-rook." See Merry Wives of Windsor, i. 3, 2; ii. 1, 200, 207, 213.
Line 611. Forfeiture.—Properly, something lost on engagement, or in consequence of the breach of an obligation. Cf. Merchant of Venice, i. 3, 165; iv. 1, 24, 122. Here the word is used in a modified and more general sense.
Line 641. Ast.—Cf., in 1592, G. Harvey's Pierces Superer, 57,—"He ... bourdeth, girdeth, asseth, the excellentest writers."
Line 644. Scindifer.—So MS., possibly for scimitar.
Line 649. Whineard, a sword or hanger (Halliwell):—