The language of the play is a bright mosaic of provincial dialects, medical jargon and the special vocabulary of the hunting field. You really have to understand the idiosyncratic slang, and the jargon of the time, used by characters such as Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh Evans, to get the jokes. Take The Merry Wives Of Windsor Vocabulary Quiz and show us your knowledge of the language.
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The Merry Wives Of Windsor Vocabulary Quiz Questions
- In Elizabethan English, what does the word “merry” most closely mean in the play’s title?
- What does “knave” mean when Falstaff uses it?
- When Ford calls Falstaff a “lubber,” what is he insulting him for?
- The term “cuckold” in the play refers to what?
- What is meant by “buck-basket”?
- When Falstaff says “wit may be made a Jack-a-Lent,” what is a “Jack-a-Lent”?
- What does “thou art a tyrant to say so” express in modern English?
- When Mistress Page says “the world shall know of it,” what does “shall” convey here?
- What does “jest” mean in the context of Falstaff’s behavior?
- When Falstaff refers to “Green Sleeves,” what kind of reference is that?
- The word “warrant” as used by the Host means what?
- When Mistress Quickly says “by my troth,” what does “troth” mean?
- The term “wench” as used by Falstaff refers to what?
- What does “fetch” mean when Falstaff says “fetch me a cup of sack”?
- When characters say “marry,” as in “Marry, this is not well,” what does “marry” function as?
- The word “sack” in Falstaff’s speech refers to what?
- What does “quaint” mean when describing Mistress Ford’s cleverness?
- When Mistress Quickly says “I am glad I am so acquit of this tinderbox,” what does “acquit” mean?
- The word “gossip” originally meant what in Shakespeare’s time?
- What does “cozen” mean when Falstaff speaks of being “cozened”?
- When Ford calls Falstaff “an old pander,” what is a “pander”?
- What is meant by “jesting-stock”?
- The word “fantastical” in the play suggests what quality?
- When Mistress Page says “I warrant he’ll laugh,” what does “I warrant” mean?
- What does “nay, I’ll ne’er believe that” translate to today?
- When Falstaff says “I am dejected,” what is he expressing?
- The term “wit” in the play refers to what?
- What does “by gar” mean when Doctor Caius says it repeatedly?
- The phrase “plague of all cowards” spoken by Falstaff expresses what?
- When Ford says “jealousy is a green-eyed monster,” what device and meaning combine here?