| Abel | [pron: 'aybl] in the Bible, the son of Adam and Eve, killed by his brother Cain |
| abortive | monstrously ill-timed, abhorrent and untimely |
| Acheron | [pron: 'akeron] Underworld abyss and river, which souls of the dead must cross |
| Achilles | [pron: a'kileez] son of Peleus and Thetis; only his spear could heal the wounds it made |
| adamant | legendary substance of great hardness and magnetism |
| Aeacus | [pron: 'eeakus] son of Zeus and Aegina, an ancestor of Achilles |
| Aeneas | [pron: e'nayas] Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite; in Roman legend, the ancestor of the Romans |
| Aeson | [pron: 'eeson] father of Jason and half-brother of Pelion; magically restored to youth by Medea |
| afoot | astir, on the move, up and about |
| Agenor | [pron: a'jenor] king of Tyre; father of daughter Europa and sons Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix |
| Ajax | [pron: 'ayjaks, OP also a'jayks] son of Telemon, king of Salamis (also called Ajax Telemonius); fought against Troy; proverbial for his size and strength |
| all | it makes no difference, it's one and the same, it doesn't matter |
| among | from time to time, every now and then |
| an | variant form of 'and' |
| anatomy | body, skeleton, skin and bones |
| and, an | if |
| and, an | if, even if |
| and, an | as if |
| and, an | if, whether |
| angel | gold coin [with the angel Michael depicted], value between a third and half of a pound |
| anon, ever and | every now and then, at regular intervals |
| anon, still and | continually |
| Apollo | Greek sun god, who pulls the sun across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot; god of prophecy [speaking through the Delphi oracle, poetry, music, archery, and healing |
| apothecary, pothecary | one who prepares and sells medicinal drugs |
| Arde | Ardres, town in Picardy, N France; site of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where Henry VIII and Francis I met |
| argue | examine, discuss the pros and cons of |
| Argus | hundred-eyed guard of Io, a heifer; Hermes killed him to rescue Io, and Hera then transferred his many eyes to the peacock’s tail |
| Ariachne | [pron: ari'aknee] weaver from Lydia, who challenged Athene to a contest; when Ariachne’s work was seen to be superior, Athene destroyed it, and Ariachne hanged herself; Athene saved her, but changed her into a spider; also known as Arachne |
| Ariadne | [ari'adnee] daughter of Minos who helped Theseus find his way through the labyrinth, and then fled with him; Theseus abandoned her while she slept at Naxos |
| Arion | [a'riyon] legendary Greek musician; about to be robbed and killed by a ship’s crew, he was allowed to sing one last song; dolphins then appeared, Arion leapt overboard, and was carried by one of them to safety |
| Ascanius | [pron: as'kaynius] son of Aeneas and Creusa, and grandson of Priam |
| Astraea | [pron: 'astria] daughter of Zeus and Themis; Greek goddess of justice |
| Ate | [pron: 'ahtee] Greek goddess of discord and vengeance |
| Athene | [pron: a'theena] Greek goddess of wisdom and learning, protector of Athens; also known as Athena, Pallas Athena, or Pallas |
| augurer | Roman religious official who interpreted and foretold events |
| Bacchanal | devotee of Bacchus, the god of wine and inspiration |
| back | through and through |
| backsword | a basket-hilted sword with a single-edged blade and a thin back; later, a sword-like stick with a basketwork hilt, used in fencing practice |
| bandy | exchange, swap, send to and fro |
| barley-break | type of country game in which a couple occupies a den [nicknamed ‘hell’] in the centre of a [barley] field, and tries to catch other couples, who may separate [break] when about to be caught |
| barrenness | area [of skin] worn dry and bare |
| Basilisco | [pron: basi'liskoh] knight character in a contemporary play, Solyman and Perseda |
| Belgia | [before 1609] present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of nearby France |
| Bevis | [pron: 'bevis] medieval Saxon knight who conquered Ascapart, a giant, and made him his squire |
| body | length and breadth, extent |
| bolt | [short and thick, crossbow] arrow |
| bought and sold | past form of 'buy and sell' |
| breath | life, spirit, living and breathing existence |
| Briareus | [bri'arius] son of Uranus and Gaea; legendary monster with 100 arms and 50 heads who fought and defeated the Titans for Zeus |
| brief | the long and the short |
| bring | tavern call for food and drink |
| broad | high and mighty, arrogant |
| bubukle, bubuncle | [malapropism for ‘bubo’ and ‘carbunkle’] inflamed swelling |
| buff | close-fitting jacket made of buff worn by constables and soldiers |
| Bull | Taurus, the second sign of the zodiac, associated with cuckoldry, and also the neck and throat |
| by and by | immediately, straightaway, directly |
| by and by | shortly, soon, before long |
| Cadmus | [pron: 'kadmus] son of Agenor, King of Tyre; he set off in pursuit of his sister Europa, arrived in Greece, and founded Thebes |
| Caesar | [pron: 'seezer] Roman politician and general, 1st-c BC |
| Cain | [pron: kayn] in the Bible, son of Adam and Eve, killer of his brother Abel |
| Cambyses | [pron: kam'biyseez] 6th-c BC king of the Medes and Persians, as represented in a 16th-c play by Thomas Preston, Cambyses |
| cancelled | made null and void, invalidated |
| canker | grub that destroys plant buds and leaves, cankerworm, parasite |
| cap and knee | cap in hand and bended knee [in order to be deferential] |
| cap-and-knee | sycophantic, flattering, obsequious |
| Capitol | geographical and ceremonial centre of ancient Rome, the seat of government |
| careless | casual, informal, free and easy |
| casement | window [on hinges and able to be opened] |
| Castor | one of the twins born to Jupiter and Leda (the other being Pollux) |
| Cato the Younger | [pron: 'kaytoh] 1st-c BC Roman politician, and opponent of Caesar |
| censer | perfuming vessel with a perforated and ornamented lid |
| censor | magistrate responsible for the census and guarding public morals |
| Centaur | creature with the upper half of a man and the rear legs of a horse; reputed for bestial behaviour |
| Ceres | [pron: 'seereez] Roman goddess of crops and fruit |
| champion | flat and open, like a plain |
| cheer | entertainment, fare, food and drink |
| chequin | type of gold coin [of Italy and Turkey] |
| chopping | [unclear meaning] equivocating, chopping and changing |
| chorus | character in a play who speaks the prologue and comments on the course of events |
| Circe | [pron: 'ser'see] enchantress who detained Odysseus and his followers on the isle of Aeaea, transforming his’ men into swine with a magic drink |
| Cleitus | [pron: 'kliytus] friend and commander of Alexander, killed by him in a quarrel |
| clock and clock, 'twixt | from hour to hour, without ceasing |
| cock and pie, by | by God and the service book |
| collection | accumulation [i.e. of words and phrases] |
| collop | [piece of flesh] offspring, flesh and blood |
| composition | constitution, make-up, state [of mind and body] |
| concordant | agreeing as one, harmonious, of one heart and mind |
| constable | chief officer of the royal household [in England and France] |
| Constantine | Constantine the Great, Roman emperor and saint, 4th-c |
| constellation | [the stars were thought to influence people and events] disposition, character, temperament |
| Corinth | Greek city-state; on an isthmus separating the Adriatic and the Aegean |
| costermonger | [sellers of fruit (originally ‘costard-apples’) and vegetables] barrow-boy, apple-seller |
| Cressid, Cressida | fickle daughter of Calchas, a priest of Troy; beloved by Troilus, a Trojan prince, she deserted him for Diomed; character in Troilus and Cressida |
| crest | heraldic device placed above the shield and helmet in a coat-of-arms |
| Crispian, Crispin, Saints | English forms of Crispianus and Crispinus: in Christian tradition, martyrs under Roman emperor Diocletian; feast day 25 October |
| Cupid | [pron: 'kyoopid] Roman god of love, son of Venus and Mercury; a winged, blindfolded boy with curved bow and arrows |
| curds and whey | foodstuff made of curdled milk |
| Cydnus | river in Cilicia, S Turkey; meeting place of Cleopatra and Antony, 41 BC |
| Cytherea | Roman goddess of beauty and love |
| Daedalus | [pron: 'dedalus] legendary Athenian inventor who made the labyrinth for King Minos in Crete; escaped to Sicily with wings made for himsef and his son Icarus |
| Daniel | in the Bible, influential Babylonian administrator and visionary |
| daughter | includes daughter-in-law and step-daughter |
| dauphin | title of the eldest son of the King of France [between 1349 and 1830] |
| Deborah | in the Bible, Hebrew prophetess, judge, and army commander |
| deuce-ace | [gambling] two and one |
| Diana | Roman goddess associated with the Moon, chastity, and hunting |
| Dido | [pron: 'diydoh] Queen of Carthage who fell in love with Aeneas when he was shipwrecked on her shores; commanded by Jupiter, Aeneas left without seeing Dido again, and she killed herself on a funeral pyre |
| dii deaeque | [Latin] all you gods and goddesses |
| disannul | make null and void, bring to nothing |
| dispersedly | from various positions, here and there |
| dividual | different, separate [i.e. between man and woman] |
| dodge | go this way and that, haggle, drag one's feet |
| doom | final destiny, deciding fate, death and destruction |
| Dowland | John Dowland, 16th-c English composer and musician |
| dragon's tail | [astrology] intersection of the orbit of the descending moon and that of the sun [associated with lechery] |
| edge | high and narrow ridge |
| ego | my king and I |
| egress and regress | [legal] right of leaving and return, freedom to come and go |
| element | essence, embodiment, heart and soul |
| eleven and twenty long | just right, perfect [a winning hand in the card game of Thirty-one] |
| ember-eve | evening before ember-days [church quarterly 3-day period of fasting and prayer] |
| embowel | disembowel [in Tudor times a procedure used to ensure that the body of a noble person would not deteriorate so much between death and burial] |
| Enceladus | giant who fought against the Olympian gods, son of Tartarus and Gaea; possible brother of Typhon |
| et bonum | and the older a good thing is, the better |
| et opus | and I have completed a work that neither the anger of Jove nor fire |
| et tu | and thou, Brutus? |
| ever and anon | every now and then, at regular intervals |
| everywhere | here and there, in many places |
| expert | experienced, tried and tested |
| fashion | (plural) horse disease affecting the nose and mouth [farcy] |
| Fates | trio of goddesses who control human destiny: Atropos (‘the inflexible’) cuts the thread of life allotted and spun by Lachesis (‘the distributor’) and Clotho (‘the spinner’) |
| fee-simple | private estate [belonging to the owner and his heirs for ever]; permanent lease, full possession |
| fewness and truth | in few words and in truth |
| first | to one and all, from beginning to end |
| flap-dragons | [game of bravado] snap-dragons: small burning objects floating on liquor, which have to be avoided while drinking; or: edible objects floating on burning liquor, to be seized and eaten |
| flight | [of arrows] power of flight, size and weight |
| fool and feather | foolishness and foppery [feathered plumes] |
| for | and [emphatic] |
| forage | range abroad, go out and about |
| forfeit | someone defeated and in danger of death |
| Fortune | Roman goddess, shown as a woman at a spinning-wheel, or controlling a rudder, and as blind |
| frustrate | annul, make null and void, render ineffectual |
| fuller | cleanser and thickener of cloth |
| Furies | three goddesses, spirits of vengeance, depicted as carrying torches and covered with snakes |
| fustian | type of coarse cloth [of cotton and flax] |
| galliass | heavily built warship using sails and oars [larger than a galley] |
| gauntlet | armoured glove protecting the hand and wrist |
| gentle | (plural) ladies and gentlemen, gentlefolk |
| George | badge [of the Order of the Garter] displaying St George and the dragon |
| glanders | horse disease affecting the nostrils and jaws |
| glutton | rich man in the Dives and Lazarus parable |
| good | [used in expressions of greeting and farewell] -den, -e'en, -even, -morrow |
| Gorgon | generally applied to Medusa, one of three monsters who had snakes in their hair, ugly faces, huge wings, and whose staring eyes could turn people to stone |
| grand guard | piece of tournament armour protecting the chest and left shoulder |
| halberd | long-handled weapon ending in a combination of axe-blade and spearhead |
| haught | haughty, arrogant, high and mighty |
| havoc | [in fighting and hunting: calling for] total slaughter, general devastation |
| hazard | [royal tennis] opening in a court where a ball is unplayable [and thus a winning point is scored] |
| head | height and breadth, greatest extent |
| Hecuba | wife of Priam, King of Troy, and mother of 18 children; after the Greeks took Troy, she saw her sons and her husband killed, and was sent into slavery. |
| Helicons | nine Muses from the slopes of Mt Helicon, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who give artistic inspiration |
| Hellespont | ['helespont] Dardanelles; narrow strait in NW Turkey, connecting the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara |
| Hercules | [Roman form of Heracles] proverbial for his mythical physical strength and miraculous achievements |
| Hermes | [pron: 'hermeez] messenger of the Greek gods, often shown wearing winged shoes; inventor of lyre and flute |
| Herod | in the Bible, a Judean king, portrayed in medieval mystery plays as a wild and angry figure |
| Herod of Jewry | out-and-out villain |
| hic et | here and everywhere |
| Hob and Dick | every Tom, Dick, and Harry |
| hornbook | [teaching device] leaf of paper, protected by a piece of thin horn, showing the letters of the alphabet and other information |
| hue and cry | general pursuit [of a felon] |
| Hydra | [pron: 'hiydra] many-headed monster, the child of Typhon and Echnida; as each head was cut off, it grew again |
| Hymen | [pron: 'hiymen] Greek god who led a wedding procession; associated with a torch, crown of flowers, and flute |
| Hyperion | [pron: hiy'peerion] Greek god, son of Uranus and Gaia, who fathered the Sun, Moon, and Dawn; often, the Sun itself, with a horse-drawn chariot |
| Icarus | [pron: 'ikarus] son of Daedalus, who escaped from Crete wearing wings made by his father; ignoring a warning, the wax in his wings melted when he flew too near the Sun, and he fell into the Aegean |
| Illyria | E seaboard of the Adriatic and its hinterland (Dalmatia); in modern Croatia |
| integer | the one upright of life and unstained by crime does not need the javelins or the bow of the Moor |
| Iris | Greek goddess of the rainbow; messenger of the gods, especially of Zeus and Hera |
| Isis | [pron: 'iysis] Egyptian goddess of the moon, fertility, and magic |
| Janus | [pron: 'jaynus] Roman god who guards gates and doors; shown with two faces, one at the back of his head |
| Job | [pron: johb] in the Bible, a patriarch, seen as a symbol of destitution and patience |
| Julius Caesar | [pron: 'seezer] Roman politician and general, 1st-c BC |
| Juno | Roman supreme goddess, wife of Jupiter, associated with the Moon, childbirth, marriage, and female identity |
| Jupiter, Jove | Roman supreme god; associated with the heavens and the weather, especially thunder and lightning; husband of Juno |
| Lambert, Saint | 7th-c bishop of Maastricht, and martyr |
| Lapland | province of N Finland, known at the time for sorcery and witchcraft |
| lay | [highwaymen] stand and deliver; put down your weapons |
| liberal | free-and-easy, unrestrained |
| liberal arts | the trivium [grammar, logic, rhetoric] and quadrivium [arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy] |
| Limbo | domain on the border of hell believed to contain the souls of unbaptised infants and of just people born before Christ |
| limbo patrum | limbo [temporary home of departed spirits between heaven and hell] of the fathers: gaol, imprisonment |
| linsey-woolsey | [mix of flax and wool] verbal mish-mash, nonsense |
| lour | frown, scowl, look dark and threatening |
| made | accomplished, consummate, out-and-out |
| mandrake | variety of poisonous plant [whose long forked root was thought to resemble a man's legs and private parts; thus, with aphrodisiac properties] |
| marrow | rich and nutritious substance derived from bone cavities |
| mart | bargaining, buying and selling, trading |
| mate and make | husband and wife |
| Meleager | [pron: melee'ager] son of Althaea, his life-span determined by an unburnt magic log; he murdered his uncles in a quarrel over the killing of a boar ravaging the fields in Calydon; in her rage Althaea burnt Meleager’s log on a fire, and he died |
| Mercury | planet particularly associated with eloquence, feats of skill, and the commercial world |
| middle earth | earth, seen as midway between heaven and hell |
| Minerva | Roman goddess of wisdom, the arts, and trades |
| Minos | ['minos] king of Crete, who imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus for helping Theseus escape from his labyrinth |
| Minotaur | ['minotawr] son of Pasiphae and a bull from the sea, half bull and half human; kept in Minos' labyrinth; killed by Theseus |
| minstrelsy | noisy playing and singing, musical rowdiness |
| misproud | wrongly proud, arrogant, high and mighty |
| Moorditch | filthy channel between Bishopsgate and Cripplegate, London |
| moral | full of moral sentiments, arguing the pros and cons |
| more | great and small |
| more | men of high and low rank |
| Muse | one of the nine goddesses in Greek mythology, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who gave artistic inspiration; also called the Helicons, as they lived on Mt Helicon |
| Naiades | [pron: 'niyadeez] nymphs who inhabit springs, rivers, and lakes |
| Narcissus | handsome youth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool; he pined away and was turned into a flower |
| nature | natural powers, normal state [of mind and body] |
| Neoptolemus | [niop'tolemus] son of Achilles and Deidamia, but here referring to Achilles himself |
| Neptune | Roman water-god, chiefly associated with the sea and sea-weather |
| Nereids | [pron: 'nerayidz] sea-nymphs, daughters of Nereus and Doris, who lived with their father in the depths of the sea |
| Nestor | Greek leader in the siege of Troy, reputed for his age and wisdom |
| Netherland | [before 1609] present-day Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of nearby France |
| Nicholas, Saint | in Christian tradition, the patron saint of travellers and scholars |
| Nine Worthies | three pagans (Hector of Troy, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar), three Jews (Joshua, David, Judas Maccabaeus), three Christians (Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon or Guy of Warwick); Hercules and Pompey the Great are included in LLL V.ii |
| Niobe | [pron: 'niyohbay] heroine of Thebes, daughter of Tantalus, whose sons and daughters were slain by Apollo and Diana; the gods then turned her into a rock, but her eyes continued to weep in the form of a spring |
| notorious | notable, out-and-out, evident |
| novum | game of dice in which throws of nine and five were significant |
| odd-even | between 12 and 1, around midnight |
| once | once and for all, in a word |
| Orpheus | legendary Greek poet, able to charm beasts and even stones with his music |
| over and over | head over heels |
| overweening | arrogant, overambitious, high and mighty |
| pair-taunt-like | like a winning hand in the card game ‘post and pair’ |
| Pandarus | [pron: 'pandarus] Trojan prince, killed by Diomedes; Cressida's uncle and go-between |
| Pannonians | people from ancient Pannonia (in and around modern Hungary) |
| Paracelsus | Swiss physician and alchemist,16th-c |
| Paris | youngest son of Priam and Hecuba; he stole Helen away from her Greek husband, Menelaus, causing the Trojan wars; character in Troilus and Cressida |
| Parthian | from Parthia, ancient kingdom of W Asia; known for skilled horsemen and archery |
| partisan | weapon with a long handle and a broad head, sometimes with a projection at the side |
| passage | traffic, passing to and fro, movement of people |
| passant | [heraldry] walking, with three paws on the ground and one raised |
| patron | defender, protector, lord and master |
| Penelope | Ulysses' wife, who waited 20 years for his return from Troy; she told suitors she had to finish weaving a shroud for Ulysses' father before she could remarry, and undid the work each night |
| Perseus | son of Zeus and Danae; advised by Athene to look at the reflection in his shield when cutting off Medusa's head, thereby avoiding being turned to stone; associated with the winged horse released by her death |
| Philemon | [pron: fiy'leemon] peasant who, with his wife Baucis, entertained Jupiter and Mercury when they visited the Earth to test people's hospitality |
| Philip and Jacob | in Christian tradtion, the feast of St Philip and St James, 1 May |
| Philomel, Philomela | [pron: 'filomel] daughter of Pandion, king of Athens; Tereus raped her and cut out her tongue, but she told the tale in her embroidery; the gods turned her into a nightingale after she took her revenge |
| philosopher's two stones | two hypothetical means of (i) giving eternal youth and (ii) turning base metals into gold |
| pickers and stealers | hands |
| pip | mark on a playing card [as used in the game of ‘one-and-thirty’] |
| piping | shrill-toned, high-pitched [either: of pipes; or: of women and children's voices] |
| plum-broth | rich soup made of meat, fruit, and spices, especially eaten at Christmas |
| Plutus | [pron: 'plootus] Greek god of wealth and gold; also called Pluto |
| pollax | F and QQ alternative to 'poleaxe' |
| Pompey | Roman politician and general, 1st-c BC |
| porridge | meat and vegetable stew or broth [reputed to produce strength] |
| posset | restorative hot drink, made of milk, liquor, and other ingredients |
| praeclarissimus | Our most renowned son Henry, King of England and heir of France |
| precious | out-and-out, worthless, good-for-nothing |
| Priapus | [priy'aypus] Greek god of human and plant fertility |
| pribbles and prabbles | vain chatter and silly quarrelling |
| Procne, Progne | [pron: 'proknee] Philomel's sister, who served her son Itys in a meal to Tereus, his father, in revenge for Tereus' rape and mutilation of Philomel |
| Prometheus | one of the Titan gods, who stole fire from heaven to help mankind, and was punished by being chained to a rock |
| prompt | ready and willing, well-disposed |
| proportion | (plural) military material, forces and supplies needed for war |
| Proserpine, Proserpina | daughter of the corn-goddess Ceres; Hades, king of the Underworld, abducted her and made her his queen |
| provost | officer in charge of the arrest, custody, and punishment of prisoners |
| pur | [debated meaning] knave in a type of card game [post and pair] |
| Pygmalion | [pron: pig'maylion] sculptor who created and fell in love with his ivory statue of a woman; Aphrodite brought her to life, and he married her |
| Pyrenean | [pron: pire'neean Pyrenees, mountain range between France and Spain |
| Pyrrhus | [pron: 'pirus] son of Achilles, who entered Troy in the wooden horse and killed Priam |
| Pythagoras | [pron: piy'thagoras] Greek philosopher and mathematician, 6th-c BC |
| reason | argue rationally [about], debate the pros and cons [of] |
| repast | food and drink, meal, refreshment |
| revolution | reversal, change, twists and turns [of fortune] |
| revolution | twisting and turning of the thoughts |
| Rhesus | [pron: 'reesus] Thracian hero, famed for his horses; after fighting for one day in the Trojan War, Ulysses and Diomedes killed him in his tent at night, and stole the horses |
| rheum | catarrh, head-cold, coughing and spluttering |
| Rhodope | [pron: 'rodopee] Greek courtesan who became queen of Memphis, and the supposed builder of the third pyramid |
| rifle | search and rob, plunder |
| right | outright, ordinary, out-and-out |
| ripe | red and full like ripe fruit |
| rondure | roundness; sphere of the earth and the accompanying heavens |
| rude-growing | spreading rough and wild |
| ruffle | hustle-and-bustle, flurry, excitement |
| Saint Edmundsbury | Bury St Edmunds, market town in Suffolk; site of the shrine of St Edmund and a place of pilgrimage |
| sall | Scottish and Welsh pronunciation of 'shall' |
| Saturn | Roman god of seed time and harvest |
| score | method of notching a piece of wood as a means of debt-keeping; when split in two between lender and debtor, the scores on the two pieces of wood would tally |
| scot and lot | [type of local taxation] in full, thoroughly |
| sea-gown | type of robe with a high collar, short sleeves, and mid-leg length |
| searcher | official appointed to view and report on corpses |
| self | a sole, one and the same, a single |
| self-unable | inadequate personal, poor and subjective |
| senna | variety of shrub [producing a drug which can cause vomiting and bowel evacuation] |
| shaft | [long and slender] arrow |
| shark up | [like a shark] gather together indiscriminately, collect hastily and uncritically |
| sharp-provided | quick and ready, sharply equipped |
| shriving | for confession and absolution |
| sic et vos | and so should you |
| Sicils | Naples and Sicily (formerly, the ‘Two Sicilies’) |
| side-sleeve | hanging sleeves open from the shoulder and falling away backwards |
| sister | includes in-laws and step-siblings |
| so-forth | such-and-such, you know what |
| Solomon | in the Bible, son and successor of David; proverbial for his wisdom |
| sometime | sometimes, now and then |
| son | includes in-laws and step-children |
| south | south wind [believed to bring storms, and plague-carrying mists] |
| South Sea | South Seas, seen as a distant and unknown location |
| spleen | temper, spirit, passion [part of the body seen as the source of both gloomy and mirthful emotions] |
| start | in fits and starts |
| startingly | in fits and starts, disjointedly |
| statute-cap | woollen cap ordered (by an Act of 1571) to be worn on Sundays and holy days by all below a certain social rank |
| step | action, movement, coming and going |
| still | repeatedly, time and again, over and over |
| stool-ball | type of bat-and-ball game, with a stool in place of a wicket |
| subornation | aiding and abetting, inducement to do wrong, instigation |
| sunburnt | of dark complexion, not fair-skinned [and therefore unattractive] |
| swits and spurs | [switches] at full speed, in hot haste |
| taborin | type of drum [narrower and longer than a tabor] |
| tackle | [of a ship] rigging and sails |
| Tantalus | king of Sipylos in Lydia, punished in the Underworld for his crimes; he sits in a pool which recedes when he bends to drink, and the grapes over his head elude his grasp |
| tent | fabric hung over and around a bed |
| Tereus | [pron: 'tereus] legendary king of Athens, who raped and mutilated his sister-in-law Philomel |
| Termagant | noisy and overbearing character in mystery plays |
| testament | will, last will and testament |
| Thebes | [theebz] city-state in Boeotia, SE Greece; associated with wisdom and learning |
| Theseus | [pron: 'theesius] legendary king of Athens; killer of the Minotaur; he conquered the Amazons and married their queen, Hippolyta |
| Three Graces | daughters of Zeus and Hera; Greek goddesses of grace and beauty |
| tirrits | malapropism combining ‘terrors’ and ‘fits’ |
| tisick | consumptive cough, infection of lungs and throat |
| toast-and-butter | milksop, wimp, pampered individual |
| trade | traffic, passage, coming and going |
| trade | cross, come and go |
| trappings | ornaments, embellishments, bits and pieces |
| Trent | river flowing south and then north-east in the English Midlands |
| trinkets | bits and pieces, paraphernalia |
| Triton | [pron: 'triyton] minor Greek sea god, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite |
| Troilus | [pron: 'troylus] youngest son of Priam and Hecuba; killed by Achilles; lover of Cressida |
| Tully | Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher, 1st-c BC |
| turn | spin round, whirl about, go round and round |
| turn | turn and face the enemy, make a bold front |
| Turnbull Street | disreputable London East End street, peopled by thieves and prostitutes |
| twenty, and | [ballad catch phrase, used as an intensifer] and many more |
| twice and once | many times |
| unstate | deprive of rank and estate, give up everything |
| vaulting | rising and falling |
| Venus | Roman goddess of beauty and love |
| Venus | planet particularly associated with love, beauty, and fertility |
| victual | (usually plural) provisions, supplies, food and drink |
| video | I see and I rejoice |
| virginal | move the fingers up and down [as if playing a virginal] |
| Vulcan | Roman god of fire, and the gods' blacksmith; his forge was under Mt Etna, and thus associated with destruction and hell |
| wagtail | [contemptuous form of address] tail-wagger, bower and scraper |
| wave | move up and down, incline |
| web and the pin | disease of the eye, cataract |
| white | in black-and-white, written down |
| Whore of Babylon | in the Bible, a prostitute figure, taken as a symbol of degenerate Rome, and thus of Roman Catholicism |
| willow | [in song] expression of sadness and unrequited love |
| witness | without a doubt, and no mistake |
| word | in a word, once and for all, in short |
| wringing | aches and pains |
| yea and no, by | by yes and no [emphatic assertion, replacing a real oath] |
| yeoman's service | good and faithful service |
| zodiac | belt of the celestial sphere within which the sun, moon, and planets appear to move, divided into twelve equal domains [signs] named after constellations |