Elizabethan Vocabulary Quiz

Question: What did buck mean?

Answer: To buck soiled clothes meant to launder them.

Question: What was a “promoter”?

Answer: Promoter could refer to someone who informs against someone else.

Question: What was a “customer”?

Answer: A “customer” was just what the word sounds like: a customs official.

Question: What did common beam refer to?

Answer: Common beam referred to an official device for measuring weight, consisting of a centrally supported bar with pans hung from the ends.

Question: What did pilgarlic mean?

Answer: A bald person could be described as “pilgarlic.”

Question: What was a “galoche”?

Answer: Galoche, which resembles the modern term galoshes, could refer to a sandal, a shoe, or an overshoe with a thick wooden sole.

Question: What was a “turkey stone”?

Answer: Turkey stone referred to a turquoise gem.

Question: What was a “codling”?

Answer: A “codling” was an unripe apple or a kind of apple unsuitable for eating raw.

Question: What was a “hoddypeak”?

Answer: Hoddypeak referred to a simpleton.

Question: What did artificial mean?

Answer: In addition to meaning “fake,” as in modern English, artificial meant “skillful” in Elizabethan times.

Question: What did stairs mean?

Answer: The term stairs could denote a boat landing.

Question: What did whittled mean?

Answer: To describe someone as “whittled” meant that the person was drunk.

Question: What was a “doddypol”?

Answer: In Elizabethan England, one might call a particularly foolish person a “doddypol.”

Question: What did the euphemism single woman denote?

Answer: In Elizabethan England, single woman could refer to a prostitute.

Question: What was a “tippler”?

Answer: In Elizabethan times, tippler could refer to a retailer of ale or beer as well as to someone who habitually drank it.

Question: What was a “counter”?

Answer: Counter could refer to anything used for counting or keeping account, such as a round piece of metal or ivory.

Question: What was a “smell-feast”?

Answer: An uninvited guest may have been called a “smell-feast.”

Question: What did bachelor mean?

Answer: In the Elizabethan era, bachelor could refer, as it does now, to a single or unmarried man, but it could also refer to a junior member of a livery company, or trade guild.

Question: What was a “whiffler” or “waffler”?

Answer: A “whiffler” or “waffler” was the steward of a procession.

Question: What was a “broach”?

Answer: A “broach” (not to be confused with “brooch”) was a cooking spit.

Question: What did it mean to “garble”?

Answer: In Elizabethan England, to “garble” could mean to sift or purify something, such as a drug or a spice.

Question: What was a “gossip”?

Answer: In Elizabethan times, gossip could refer to a friend or neighbor as well as to an idle talker.

Question: What did the slang term French marbles refer to?

Answer: The slang term French marbles referred to venereal disease.

Question: What was a “shot”?

Answer: Rather than drinking a shot, Elizabethan tavern patrons would pay it, as shot referred to a tavern bill.