Page:Henry IV Part 1 (1917) Yale.djvu/135

King Henry the Fourth heads, or damaged coin, still in circulation, 'passing current.'

 tinker. Tinkers were famous for their capacity for strong drink and for their picturesque vocabulary.

 Michaelmas. The feast of St. Michael, September 29; one of the four quarter days of the English business year.

 Hal here talks nonsense, with the express purpose of confusing Francis still more

 brawn. The fleshy part of the body, especially the calf of the leg or the buttocks. Falstaff is again referred to as a 'brawn' in Henry IV, Pt. II. I. i. 19: 'Harry Monmouth's brawn, the hulk Sir John.'

 Titan. The sun. Mispunctuation has resulted in making this speech of Prince Hal's obscure in most modern editions. The phrase 'pitiful-hearted Titan' is obviously parenthetical, as Warburton first suggested, and the clause beginning 'that melted' refers to 'butter.'

 weaver. Elizabethan weavers were, for the most part, 'psalm-singing Puritans,' who had fled to England from the religious persecutions in the Low Countries.

 points. Falstaff refers to the points of swords. Poins, in his reply, quibblingly interprets points in another sense, namely, garters.

 Kendal-green. A dark green woolen cloth made at Kendal in Westmoreland; the traditional costume of Robin Hood.

 strappado. A military punishment which consisted of fastening a rope under the arms of the offender, drawing him up by a pulley to the top of a high beam and then suddenly letting him down with a jerk.