Benford's G&S Lexicon Entries for Ruddigore
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Act I
When Dick says he "spoke" Rose, he is using good nautical parlance to say he has communicated with her (92, 250).
To lurk out of sight in a furtive way.
This refers to vegetable (probably olive) oil. Stedman (274) reminds us that "corn and oil" is a Biblical reference to agricultural wealth. There are literally dozens of references to oil in the Good Book. The First Book of Kings, for example, relates how Solomon gave Hiram corn and oil in exchange for cedars from Lebanon. (And keep in mind that Rose Maybud is addicted to expressing herself in the King James vernacular.)
A euphemism for alcoholic beverages.
I have heard doubts expressed that any wild beasts could live in a desert. But here's an authentic list: antelopes, elephants, gemsboks, giraffes, lions, suricates, and zebras (30).
A charming seducer and deceiver. The name is derived from a character in Nicholas Rowe's tragic play The Fair Penitent (1703).
A dead-eye is a round block of wood with, usually, three holes drilled through the flat face. They are used in pairs as a crude block-and-tackle to apply tension to the shrouds of a mast. For a picture see HMS Pinafore. "Turning-in" refers to the art of wrapping a rope around the dead-eye and binding it with lighter cord. Fortunately, the plot line is in no way dependent upon your understanding all this esoteric nautical lore. Read on.
Prestige (245) explains: "This refers to a marriage settlement, wherein the husband will give his wife a life interest in his property when she becomes a widow."
Change direction. To tack means to zigzag upwind. See entry for "Bowline", also in Ruddigore.
Pronunciation: sith-er-EE-en
Related to Cythera, the ancient name for the Greek island of Cerigo, famous for a temple of Aphrodite (Venus). Thus Cytherean posies are flowers gathered to advance an affair of the heart.
An otherwise meaningless word but said in a sibilant way expressive of rapid motion, like w h o o s h! (257).
Halton (147) claims the "expression originated in the person of Machiavelli, an Italian, noted for being unscrupulous, crafty and cynical." Stedman (273) says that a character in Mrs Radcliffe's novel The Italian sparked a line of Gothic villains with mesmeric eyes. This became a stock character in Gilbert's time. Indeed, he used it in at least two of his plays. Wilson (320) proposes "a suggestive, melodramatic look." Hyder (161) believes "it refers to an emotional, melodramatic, mesmeric, and even romantic look." Kesilman (174) and Knight (177) hold similar views. Asimov (11) supposes it to be a romantic look. The old D'Oyly Carte Opera troupe underscored the term with a dramatic flourish, holding cape in front of face with one arm and pointing melodramatically with the other. The term glance implies a fleeting look, but that need not be taken too literally. In truth, of course, Margaret tends to babble incoherently, so directors are free to interpret the expression any way they choose, and so are you.
A person retained by a landowner to manage an estate, collect rents, and so forth. (257).
The little beetle Americans call a ladybug. Are these lines intended to make sense? I doubt it. So does Asimov (11). Kravetz (181) believes Gilbert is parodying Ophelia's lines in Hamlet.
Evans (111) explains that a Commissioner is a solicitor "especially empowered by the Lord Chancellor to administer an oath to an affidavit." Goodman (142) adds that court officers and notary publics can also fulfill the function. The full title is Commissioner of Oaths.
One definition of a buck is "a man of spirit or gaiety of conduct." As for a blade, well he is "a roysterer; a gallant; a sharp keen fellow; a free and easy, good fellow. (Probably from BLADE, a sword, a soldier … )" (115).
Men of respectable families and good breeding. In its broadest sense the term applies to ladies as well as gentlemen.
Indoors, or within city walls. "Charms intramural," then, would refer to the enticements of refined city ladies, as distinct from the unsophisticated attractions of the young country women of Rederring.
Pertaining to the part of the classical Greek underworld reserved for the blessed (66).
Amaryllis is a classical name for a rustic sweetheart.