savoury the British spelling of the word “savory,” which means appetizing.
sententious tending to use a lot of maxims or proverbs and often inclined to moralize more than is appreciated.
serpentine something that twists or coils like a snake.
set fire to their prisons . . . improving the flavour of their soup prison conditions were terrible in the early 1800s and reform was years off. By 1861, the outrage and reform had gone in the other direction, with prisoners rioting because they did not like their food. This pun refers to the fact that, at the time of this story, everyone’s food was bad, whether prisoner, soldier, or pauper, so prisoners had not gotten to the point of rioting to “improve the flavour of their soup.” Flavour is the British spelling for the word “flavor.”
settle a long wooden bench with a back and armrests.
shark-headed screws round-headed screws.
sluice-keeper sluices were floodgates that controlled the flow of water through the marshes. The sluice-keeper was responsible for managing these gates. Orlick lodges with the sluice-keeper near the forge.
Smithfield a large, open square that was London’s main cattle-market until 1852.
Spanish-liquorice-water a sweet drink of liquorice-flavored water. There is no alcohol in it.
squally troubling or disturbing.
state parlour a formal parlor that is never open at any time of year except Christmas.
stile a step or set of steps used in climbing over a fence or wall. Another definition is a turnstile or post with revolving horizontal bars, placed in an entrance to allow the passage of persons but not of horses, cattle, and so on. Pip and Biddy are walking on the marshes near the sluice-gate, which is a gate that controls the flow of water onto the marshes. Either definition — a turnstile or a wall with steps climbing over the wall — works here because either one may be used to prevent animals and unaware persons from getting hurt near the sluice-gate.
subterfuge any plan, action, or device used to hide one’s true objective or evade a difficult or unpleasant situation. When Jaggers discounts Wopsle’s conclusions about a murder Wopsle is discussing, the rest of the people listening start to question whether Wopsle has an ulterior motive in drawing the conclusions he has.
superscription something, such as an address or name, written at the top or on an outer surface of an envelope or similar item.
supposititious case hypothetical case.
swab a lowly seaman.
Tag and Rag and Bobtail riff-raff or rabble.
taken Time by the forelock seize the opportunity and act. The reference is Greek, from the philosopher Thales of Miletus (around 624–546 BC).
Tar-water a mixture of tar and water used as a disinfectant or a nasty medicine. Mrs. Joe likes to give this generously to Pip and Joe, whether they need or deserve it.
thowel primitive sort of rowlock or oarlock.
Timon of Athens and Coriolanus two of Shakespeare’s plays. The hero of the first is known for speaking abusively and the hero of the second, the beadle, is known for arrogance.
toady fawning, overly interested and obedient to someone to the point of being obviously a liar and actually uncaring.
tobacco-stoppers used to push tobacco into the bowl of a pipe.
tract ornamented with a woodcut a tract was a pamphlet expounding on some topic, usually religious or political. Pictures were often applied by cutting a design into a block of wood, inking the wood, and then pressing it onto the paper.
Traveller’s Rest a place that tramps, convicts, or people in hiding (such as a deserting soldier) would have used for a shelter.
trenchant forceful and vigorous. Mrs. Joe has a uniquely forceful way of buttering their bread.
two men up into the Temple to pray reference to the biblical parable from Luke 18:10-13, in which a Pharisee and a publican go into the temple to pray. The Pharisee is proud, while the publican is humble and asks God to forgive him because he is a sinner. Pip is thinking of these verses as he stands at Magwitch’s deathbed. Magwitch has just died, and Pip concludes that the best prayer he can make is “Oh Lord, be merciful to him, a sinner!”
two One-Pound notes one-pound notes went out of circulation in England in 1821 because they were so easily and so often forged. This piece of information sets the timing for this part of the novel before 1821. It is also interesting because later in the novel the reader learns that Compeyson and Magwitch were arrested for forgery, though Dickens never confirms if they forged these notes.
