Benford's G&S Lexicon Entries for The Grand Duke
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Act I
Webster (306) tells us that muckle is a variation of mickle, one meaning of which is Scottish slang for “talking with a big mouth.” Another dictionary (108) defines mucklemouthed as “Having a large mouth.”
“The charred or partly consumed portion of a candlewick” (250).
Pronunciation: JIB-ett
A frame for hanging criminals. It could be used either as a device for execution or for exhibiting those already dead. A good place to avoid in either event.
A person who devises the wording for laws (142). See also Iolanthe.
Pronunciation: FAWL-shuns
A falchion is a short broad, curved sword, somewhere between a saber and a scimitar in shape. More generally: any sword. The word is derived from the Latin word for “sickle” (250).
Urgent need.
The art of spelling. If you look carefully at the context again, you may smell a neat pun –– which I won’t spell out.
Something assumed under the law even though it is obviously untrue in any literal sense. See also The Gondoliers.
Automatically. This is Latin for “by the act itself.”
“A barrister who was appointed to revise lists of voters in parliamentary elections. While this responsibility was vested, in 1896, in specially appointed barristers, it has since been transferred to other officials” (243).
“British Law, evidence for the crown given by an accused person against his alleged accomplices” (250). In the United States it is called state’s evidence.
Vile and unprincipled scoundrel. The sort of blighter who would curse at his wife without first removing his hat.
Soft, rich earth, gently mellowed by all those mouldering bodies.
In this context the expression means “Who would consider the old method?” That is one meaning of “suppose” (250).
“Rub” is a colloquialism for a difficulty or an obstacle (115). Hyder (162) reminds us of “ay, there’s the rub,” from Hamlet’s soliloquy (Act III, Scene I).
Someone who makes a big show of virtue. As Johnson (165) defines it: “A pert, conceited, saucy, pragmatical little fellow.”
Disguise the truth. See also HMS Pinafore.
The bare necessities of life (54). See also The Gondoliers.
Pronunciation: Anglicize to rhyme with autonomy. Sorry!
French for “cheerful comradeship.”
“Joke” and “jape” mean pretty much the same thing: a jest.
Pronunciation: …-HAY-p’ny
An Englishman’s way of saying “two-and-a-half cents.” It is a common expression implying disdain (234).
A small container for powdered tobacco. The powder, when inhaled, induces sneezing. It was often attended with elaborate ceremonial flourishes.