2. sack: dry Spanish white wine.
8. dials: clocks.
9. leaping-houses: brothels.
10. taffeta: —Taffeta was often worn by prostitutes.
13. you come near me now: i.e., you've scored a point on me.
14. seven stars: constellation of the Pleiades.
15. Phoebus, he, 'that wandering knight so fair': —Falstaff identifies Phoebus, the sun-god or knight of the sun, with the knight errant ("wand'ring knight") of a popular romance.
16. wag: rogue.
17. grace: virtue, sense of propriety; royal highness (with pun on spiritual grace and also on "grace" or blessing before a meal).
20. troth: faith.
21. prologue to an egg and butter: i.e., a short grace before a skimpy meal.
22. roundly: directly; i.e., out with it.
23. Marry: indeed (a mild oath; literally by the Virgin Mary).
25-26. Diana's foresters: —An elegant name for thieves by night; Diana is the moon-goddess and the goddess of the hunt.
26. minions: favorites, darlings.
27. government: conduct, behavior.
29. countenance: (1) face; (2) protection, patronage, approval. steal: (1) walk silently, move stealthily; (2) rob, steal money.
30. it holds well: the comparison is apt.
36. Lay by: hands up (A cry of highwaymen). Bring in: An order given to a waiter in a tavern.
37. ladder: i.e., ladder to the gallows.
41. Hybla: A mountainous region of Sicily near Syracuse noted for its honey. old lad of the castle: (1) cant phrase for roisterer; (2) an allusion to Sir John Oldcastle, the name that Shakespeare originally intended for Falstaff.
42-43. buff jerkin: leather jacket (often worn by jailers and other officers of the law). of durance: (1) durable, serviceable; (2) of imprisonment.
45. quiddities: subtle jests, subtleties of speech.
47. pox: syphilis. (Here, what a pox is used as an expletive, like "what the devil").
49. reckoning: settling of the bill (with bawdy suggestion).
60. resolution: courage; i.e., the valor of thieves. fubb'd: fobbed, thwarted, cheated.
61. antic: clown, buffoon.
64. brave: fine, excellent.
69-70. in some sort it jumps with my humor: in some ways it suits my temperament.
70. waiting in the court: being in attendance at the royal court.
71. obtaining of suits: (1) having petitions granted; (2) taking possession of clothes. —The clothing
of an executed person that was forfeited to the hangman.
73. 'Sblood: by God's (Christ's) blood.
74. gib cat: tomcat. lugg'd bear: bear led by a chain and baited by dogs.
77. hare: i.e., because of its melancholy appearance (hares were a proverbially melancholy animal).
78. Moor-ditch: open sewer or drainage ditch outside the walls of London.
80. comparative: i.e., given to (unflattering) comparisons.
82. vanity: worldliness.
83. commodity: supply.
84. rated: berated, chastised.
88-89. wisdom cries out in the streets, and no man regards it: An echo of Proverbs 1:20-24: "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets; . . . [she] called . . . and no man regarded." (KJV)
90. iteration: i.e., trick of repeating Biblical texts (with a satirical twist).
96. and: if.
100. 'Zounds: by God's (Christ's) wounds. make one: be one of the party.
101. an': and; i.e., if. baffle: disgrace (literally, deprive a perjured knight of his rank).
106-107. Gadshill: the name of one of the thieves. set a match: planned a robbery.
107. by merit: i.e., according to their deserving rather than by God's grace.
109. omnipotent: utter.
110. true: honest.
115. Good Friday: i.e., the most solemn of fast days.
117. stands to: keeps.
119. his due: i.e., Falstaff's soul.
122. cozening: cheating.
125. Gadshill: hill near Rochester on the road from London to Canterbury, notorious for its robberies. (One of the thieves is also called Gadshill).
127. vizards: masks.
129. lies: lodges.
130. Eastcheap: thoroughfare in London, site of the tavern in which Falstaff spends most of his time.
134. Yedward: Nickname for Edward, Poins' first name.
136. chops: fat-face; apparently alluding to Falstaff's fat jaws.
141. royal: With a pun on "royal" a gold coin. stand for: (1) make a fight for; (2) be worth (The value of the royal or gold coin alluded to in blood royal 137-138).
152-153. spirit of persuasion, ears of profiting: These phrases mock the cant of the puritans of Shakespeare's time.
156. want countenance: lack encouragement (from men of rank like the Prince).
158. latter spring: i.e., old man with youthful impulses.
159. All-hallown summer: i.e., Indian summer. All-hallows (or All Saints') Day is November 1. Falstaff's summer (his youth) has lasted to All Saints' Day.
163. waylaid: set an ambush for.
175. habits: clothes.
176. appointment: accoutrement.
179-180. sirrah: customarily a form of address to an inferior; here, a term of comradeship. cases of buckram for the nonce: garments of buckram (stiff, coarse cloth) suitable for the occasion.
180. noted: well-known.
181. doubt: fear. too hard: i.e., too many.
187. incomprehensible: unlimited.
189. wards: postures of defense, parries.
190. reproof: disproof.
196. unyok'd humor of your idleness: undisciplined tendency of your frivolity.
198. contagious: noxious (because fogs were thought to breed pestilence).
200. That: so that.
201. wanted: missed.
207. rare accidents: exceptional events.
211. hopes: expectations.
212. sullen ground: dark background.
215. foil: thin sheet of metal set behind a jewel to enhance its brilliance.
216. to: as to. skill: i.e., something good and clever.
217. Redeeming time: making up for misspent time.