pair of pattens protective footgear for wet weather. They were wooden soles strapped on over the shoes.
pannikins small pans or metal cups.
peck of orange-peel Joe’s comment here indicates the audience threw a lot of orange peels, essentially expressing their dislike of the performance.
pervade to pass through or spread through.
pettishly peevishly, petulantly, crossly.
physiognomy the practice of trying to judge character and mental qualities by observation of bodily, especially facial, features.
plaister the British spelling of the word “plaster,” which is a medicinal paste spread on a cloth and applied to a wound.
plaited the right leg of my trousers as a nervous twitch, Pip sits there pleating (folding) and unpleating the cloth of his pants leg.
plenipotentiary a person, especially a diplomatic agent, given full authority to act as representative of a government.
plummet something heavy.
Pool below Bridge the area downriver from, or east of, London Bridge.
potman; prisoners buying beer prisoners were allowed all the beer they wanted in prison so long as they could pay the potman, someone from a local tavern who came to the prison to sell beer.
pottle a small basket. It can also be a pot or tankard capable of holding a pottle or half gallon of liquid. In this case, Herbert is carrying a pottle of strawberries, so the basket reference is probably the correct one.
propitiate to appease someone.
Provincial Amateur of Roscian renown . . . our National Bard Quintus Roscius Gallus (died 62 BC) was the greatest Roman comic actor of his time, so this reference indicates an actor of the same level of renown. Our National Bard refers to Shakespeare. Essentially, the playbill from the small theater is claiming Wopsle to be a great actor who is performing in a Shakespearean play.
public-house an inn or tavern. In Pip’s time these were the hotels and restaurants for travelers.
pudding in the cloth a dinner made by putting a flour mixture in a pudding bag, sometimes adding meat or vegetables, and boiling it.
Rantipole Mrs. Joe sarcastically calls Pip this name and the reference has a couple possible meanings. There were two references in Dickens’ time — one referred to a wicked child in a children’s story of the time, the other to Napoleon III, who was much in the news in 1860 waging wars and generally disturbing things in Europe. In either case, the name is not a compliment.
religious cross of the Ghost in Hamlet with Richard the Third Mr. Wopsle, who is a clerk in the church, says grace before they sit down to Christmas dinner. Between his desire to be a minister and thus, preach, and his love to perform in the theater, Mr. Wopsle’s grace is like a religious performance of a Shakespearean play. Mr. Wopsle could be the Ghost in Hamlet or Richard III, but with a religious streak.
rich man and the kingdom of Heaven Pip is uncomfortable because the clergyman in church reads this Bible passage right after Pip finds out he has come into wealth. The Bible reference is Matthew 19:24: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
rimy morning a morning with frost all over anything that was damp the night before.
rush-light a cheap candle made from the pith of the stem of a rush that has been dipped in grease and fat instead of wax. At Hummums, these were put in a perforated tin holder that left a dotted pattern of light on the walls.
