strumpet a prostitute.
fitchew a polecat or weasel. John’s quotation of Shakespeare refers to the popular tradition of the fitchew’s enthusiasm for mating.
civet a yellowish, fatty substance with a musklike scent, secreted by a gland near the genitals of the civet cat and used in making some perfumes. Here, John quotes Shakespeare’s sarcastic use of the term to mean a sweet scent. Pure civet is foul-smelling.
usurp to take or assume by force or without right.
