Ablutions a washing of the body.
Accoucheur policeman an Accoucheur was a male midwife or an obstetrical doctor. Because Pip's sister always acts as if Pip had insisted on being born, she treats him like a criminal. Pip concludes that as he were an offender at birth, he was delivered to his sister by an obstetrical policeman.
Adamantine unyielding, firm, adamant about something. Pip adamantly refuses to answer his sister's questions when he returns from his first visit to Miss Havisham's.
ague a chill or fit of shivering, often caused by malaria with its intermittent fevers.
all otherth ith Cag-Maggerth cagmag is garbage, like rotting flesh, and this comment indicates that the speaker considers all other lawyers useless compared to Jaggers.
antipodes that is, through a trapdoor.
apostrophising the fowl the British spelling of the word "apostrophizing," which means the addressing of someone or something, as in a speech or play. Pumblechook is speaking to the chicken that he is about to eat, about Pip's good fortune.
bad courtier A courtier, originally an attendant at a royal court, refers here to someone who is adept at using flattery to get something or to win favor. Herbert's father is a bad courtier with Miss Havisham in that he does not flatter her but speaks the truth whether she likes it or not.
bagatelle board a slanted oblong table that was raised at one end and used to play a nineteenth century version of pinball with a wooden ball, a wooden cue, and numbered holes.
Bartholomew Close a narrow street near Bartholomew Church in the Smithfield area.
Battery a nearby fort or gun emplacement.
being insured in some extraordinary Fire Office at that time, fire insurance companies put plaques on the buildings they insured. They also had their own fire engine companies. When the fire companies were racing to a fire, the emblem on the building let them know if it was one of their buildings to save.
black gaiters cloth or leather coverings for the insteps and ankles, and, sometimes, the calves of the legs; also, spats or leggings.
boot-jack a device to grip a boot heel, for helping a person to pull off boots.
Bounceable Here, Wemmick is talking to one of the plaster face casts and saying what a boaster and liar that client was.
bower a place enclosed by overhanging boughs of trees or by vines on a trellis.
bowsprit a large, tapered spar extending forward from the bow of a sailing vessel, to which stays for the masts are secured.
Bow-street men from London; extinct red waistcoated police there were two groups — the Bow Street Runners and the Bow Street Patrol. The latter wore red uniforms, worked as patrols in London, and were often confused with the former. The Runners were plainclothes detectives in London who often went out into the provinces to investigate serious crimes.
Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better a proverb meaning that silence is better than boasting.
brazen bijou, a roasting-jack the first is a brass ring that holds the second, a device to turn a joint of meat on a spit over an open fire.
bread-poultice, baize, rope-yarn, and hearthstone these references apply to the convicts that rode with Pip to the Hulks. Bread-poultice was bread soaked in hot water, put in cloth, and applied to bruises and swellings. Baize was a cheap, thick wool cloth probably used for prison clothes. Rope-yarn refers to the fact that prisoners were often put to work unraveling old rope. Hearthstone refers to stone broken up to use to whiten doorsteps and hearthstones.
Bridewells and Lock-Ups prisons.
Britannia metal cheap silverware made of tin and antimony and marked with an image of Britannia.
brought up by hand to spoon- or bottle-feed, rather than breast-feed.
Cain or the Wandering Jew Pip describes Orlick as a skulking, evil sort of person. He associates Orlick's appearance and mannerisms with the Bible character Cain, a fugitive and vagabond after killing his brother Abel, and with the Wandering Jew, a legendary medieval character who wandered the earth as punishment for his cruelty to Christ.
came of age the age of majority. Pip is now considered an adult.
capacious dumb-waiter a piece of furniture with shelves to hold sauces, silverware, and other items for dinner.
capstan an apparatus around which cables or hawsers are wound for hoisting anchors, lifting weights, and so on.
cast was made in Newgate This term refers to the plaster face casts in Jaggers office, which were the death masks of two of his clients made right after they were hanged. These masks were often made after executions and sold to willing buyers.
Catechism a series of questions and answers children in the Church learn. When they are confirmed by the Bishop they must be able to answer these. In one part of the Catechism, the child promises to "keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life." Pip interprets this to mean he must walk home the same way every day of his life.
chaise-cart a lightweight carriage with two to four wheels that is drawn by one or two horses. It sometimes has a collapsible top.
chandler's shop originally, a shop specializing in candles; here, it refers to a general store, which would also stock candles. A chandler was, originally, a maker or seller of candles.
change come so oncommon plump a change coming so suddenly and all at once. Joe is commenting on how the news of Pip's expectations just caught him off guard at first, but after a night's sleep he is dealing better with it.
chary wary, careful.
cistern a large receptacle for storing water; especially, a tank, usually underground in which rainwater is collected for use.
close the eyes of the foolish Argus at Hummums, Pip cannot sleep any better than the Greek mythological giant, Argus. The giant had one hundred eyes, fifty of which were open even while he slept.
coal-whippers men who operated the whips or pulleys that raised coal onboard ships.
Coiner a counterfeiter.
collation a light meal.
Collins' Ode on the Passions Mr. Wopsle is supposed to give periodic scholastic tests to the students in his great-aunt's school to see if they are learning. Instead, he makes them listen to his performances of great orations and poems. This one is the poem, "Ode on the Passions," by William Collins (1721–1759). Collins' odes were often on nature subjects or emotions and here Mr. Wopsle plays the part of "Revenge."
comes the Mo-gul over us a Mogul is one of the Mongolian conquerors of India and Persia. Joe uses this term to describe Mrs. Joe's heavy-handed, despotic power over them as if she were some far-eastern prince.
Commercials underneath . . . Tumbler's Arms When Mr. Wopsle does his "Ode on the Passions" performance at Pip's party, he throws his "sword down in thunder," making so much noise that the traveling salesmen in the rooms below complain. The waiter is telling Mr. Wopsle that the inn is not a place for circus performers as the Tumbler's Arms is, so quiet down.
copper-stick Pip has to stir the Christmas pudding and is using the stick usually used to stir the laundry, which is done in the largest copper pot in the house.
corn-chandler a corn merchant.
counting-house a building or office in which a firm keeps records, handles correspondence, and so on.
crimes in the Calendar this is a reference to the Newgate Calendar (1771), a series of true-crime stories. Pip is imaging that Magwitch's crimes were among these.
Cross Keys a real inn from the seventeenth century where coaches coming into London from the provinces would stop.
dance a hornpipe lively dance played on a hornpipe, which is an obsolete wind instrument with a bell and mouthpiece made of horn.
descrying to discern, or think you see, something.
Double Gloucester a thick, creamy cheese that is twice as large and old as regular Gloucester. Herbert's concern here is that the old man will hurt himself trying to cut through it.
dull blades a blade is an easy-going playboy. Dull would indicate that this student is not very smart.
Dutch clock a cheap wooden clock that was imported from Germany.
Dutch doll a wooden doll with jointed legs, made in Germany.
Dying Gladiator Mr. Pocket, overwhelmed by the chaos in his house, drops down onto the sofa in this pose. It refers to "The Dying Gaul," a Roman copy of a Greek statue of a dying gladiator lying down propped up on one arm.
equipage a carriage, especially one with horses and liveried servants.
excrescence an ugly, abnormal, or disfiguring addition to something. At his party for his apprenticeship, Pip is miserable while the adults are having a great time. Thus, Pip is an excrescence on their fun.
execrating cursing. When the two convicts are captured, they fight and curse each other.
expectorating coughing up and spitting out.
expostulatory having to do with an earnest objecting.
faces out of the Witches' caldron a reference to Act IV, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth visits the witches as they stir their caldron, and he demands an explanation of their prophecies about him. They ask if he wants the story from them or from their masters, and he asks to see their masters. The witches promptly work their magic and a number of apparitions arise from the boiling caldron.
Farinaceous containing, consisting of, or made from flour or meal. Because Pumblechook is a corn and seed merchant, his home and place of business no doubt have a fair bit of corn meal or flour dust scattered about.
fashionable crib . . . a shake-down Magwitch wants Pip to find him cheap lodging of the kind thieves are used to, often in disreputable public-houses where the beds are made up of straw on the floor.
fell among those thieves this is a biblical reference, referring to the unfortunate man in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-35, who fell among thieves, was beaten by them, and left for dead. Pip feels that numbers and arithmetic are about as vicious to him as the thieves were to the man in the parable.
fenders material, such as timber or old cables, hung over the side of a ship to protect it from banging around while in port.
fête days festival days or days with gala parties held outdoors.
fired a rick set fire to a haystack. Pip's reference to this crime means people would have viewed him as a major criminal because at that time, children even as young as seven were sometimes hanged for arson.
flowered-flounce a flounce is a wide ornamental ruffle, a cloth with pleats in it; here, the cloth has a flowered design.
fluey dusty.
freemasonry a natural sympathy and understanding among persons with like experiences. Pip and Joe share the freemasonry of abuse as victims of Pip's sister. The term refers to the Freemasons, a secret fraternal society begun in the early 1700s and having among its principles brotherliness and mutual aid among its members.
game at Bo-Peep Pip is referring to the plaster casts in Jaggers' office that, in the shadowy reflections of the fire, look as if they are playing peekaboo with him. This is another example of human actions or emotions ascribed to inanimate objects.
garden-mould dirt, soil, earth.
gentlemanly Cove a gentlemanly chap or man.
Geographical chop-house . . . porter-pot a less-than-clean restaurant serving beefsteaks and mutton-chops and catering to clientele who are not concerned with neat eating habits. The porter-pot was a pot for holding cheap, bitter, dark-brown beer named for the people who drank it — porters and workingmen.
George Barnwell; meditating aloud in his garden at Camberwell; died amiably at Camberwell; game on Bosworth Field; and in the greatest agonies at Glastonbury after Pip visits Miss Havisham, he stops at Pumblechook's and listens to Wopsle perform the part of an uncle who is murdered in the play The London Merchant. Barnwell is the young hero in the story who kills the uncle. As Pip and Wopsle walk home from Pumblechook's, Wopsle continues his rendition of famous death scenes: the Camberwell reference is still from the Barnwell tragedy, and the Bosworth Field reference is from Richard III; the Glastonbury reference is unclear because Dickens may have confused Glastonbury with Swinstead Abbey, from Shakespeare's play King John.
gewgaws things that are showy but useless; trinkets.
gibbet a structure similar to a gallows, from which bodies of criminals already executed were hung and exposed to public scorn.
ginger and sal volatile this was a form of smelling salts used then especially to revive ladies who passed out or became hysterical. It was a mixture of ammonium carbonate scented with dried ginger. This is used much by Raymond to calm Miss Camilla during the night when she gets so "nervous" worrying about relatives like Miss Havisham.
gold repeater Jaggers' watch. It repeats, meaning it chimes the last hour or quarter hour when a lever is pressed and thus it can be checked in the dark. Its use was not as important after sulfur matches became common.
Gormandizing a British spelling of the word "gourmandising," which here means eating or devouring like a glutton.
Great Seal of England in plaited straw the Great Seal of England is an important symbol carried by the Lord Chancellor. Here, Mrs. Joe carries her plaited-straw basket importantly, like her own straw version of the Great Seal of England.
gridiron a framework of metal bars or wires on which to broil meat or fish. Joe is trying to use terms of his work to tell Pip there is nothing special he could make and bring to Miss Havisham that would be enough even if he were the best of craftsmen. Even the best cannot change a gridiron into something special.
Grinder a private tutor who prepares students for their examinations.
gunwale the upper edge of the side of a ship or boat.
hackney-coachman a hackney coach-driver. A hackney coach would be similar to a modern taxi in that you would hire it to take you somewhere, unlike the coaches coming into London from the provinces, which stopped at only certain stations or inns.
hair powder; shorts Magwitch's suggestions for a disguise are outdated, reflecting his many years away from England. Wigs were no longer used, hair powder was used only by the old-fashioned, and shorts or knee-breeches were worn only by some clergy members on ceremonial occasions.
hand-portmanteau a traveling case or bag.
Harmonious Blacksmith a piece of music by G. F. Handel (1685–1759) that was supposedly based on a blacksmith's song that the composer overheard.
he knew where I was to be found Pip is so upset when Drummle toasts Estella at a meeting of the Finches and tells everyone he is acquainted with her, that Pip challenges him to a duel. The Finches arrange a bloodless way to resolve the fight with Drummle producing a certificate from the lady proving his acquaintance and Pip apologizing when he does.
hempen hawsers rope cables.
Here is the green farthingale . . . and the blue solitaire a farthingale is a hooped petticoat worn by ladies in the early eighteenth century. The solitaire was a wide tie or cravat worn by men in the same period. These are no longer in fashion in Pip's time. This reference indicates the house is old and has seen its share of stately parties for many generations.
horrors the last stage of alcoholism: delirium tremens.
Hulks dismantled wooden ships no longer fit for service that are moored in British ports, such as in the marsh area of Kent, to provide extra prison space.
Hummums in Covent Garden a place at the southeast corner of Covent Garden that was the site of one of England's earliest Turkish baths. During the eighteenth century, it was a combination steam bath, eatery, health center, and brothel; later it was a hotel.
Hymen the Greek god of marriage, the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite.
imbruing his hands in me Pip is worried that the young man will stain his hands with Pip's blood if Pip fails to bring the food.
in the books of a neighboring upholsterer . . . a boy in boots Pip is in debt to a local interior decorator and furniture dealer. He has also hired a servant.
In the Eastern story . . . the ceiling fell from a book Dickens read as a boy, Tales of the Genii, with stories similar to the Arabian Nights. The sixth tale in this book has the wise vizier for the sultan foiling the sultan's enemies with an elaborate trap like the one mentioned here. A stone crushes the enemies as they sleep. The point is that the enemies thought they were at the peak of their power having trapped the sultan, and suddenly their luck ran out. The same is about to happen to Pip.
injudicious showing poor judgment; not discreet or wise.
It's death to come back. These words spoken by the convict to Pip set the main danger and conflict for the rest of the novel. However, the direness of the convict's situation was most likely nowhere near as bad as Dickens makes it out to be in the book. The last time someone hanged for returning to England after being banished was in 1810. From 1827–1830, out of eight returned convicted transports, none was executed. By 1834, the death penalty for illegal reentry had been taken off the statute books.
ivory tablets a small notebook with two covers made from oblong pieces of ivory. Pencil marks could be wiped off of the ivory.
kind of Patience solitaire.
land of Arabian nights Egypt.
lightermen bargemen.
like the Bull in Cock Robin pulling at the bell rope a nursery-rhyme reference about a bullfinch offering to toll the bell at Cock Robin's funeral. Here, the man speaking to Jaggers is pulling at a lock of his hair, often done by a country person as a sign of respect to a member of the gentry.
limekiln a furnace or kiln used to turn limestone into lime. Though Dickens places this near the sluice-house, it is unlikely a limekiln could have burned so close to water. It most likely was further inland.
Little Britain street north of St. Paul's Cathedral with many law offices because of its proximity to the criminal courts.
Meditations prayers.
mentally casting me and himself up Mrs. Joe tells Pip and Joe they cannot get along without her. Joe looks at himself and Pip as if adding the two of them together to see whether they would equal her.
Mentor of our young Telemachus . . . Quintin Matsys . . . VERB. SAP." The waiter at the Blue Boar, who assumes Pip owes everything to Pumblechook, hands Pip this newspaper article that Pumblechook has run. Telemachus was the young son of Odysseus who was guided during his father's absence by Athene, disguised as an old friend of his father's. Quintin Matsys was a Flemish painter who supposedly began his career as a blacksmith. VERB. SAP. is a Latin abbreviation for verbum satis sapienti, meaning "a hint is enough to the wise." Pumblechook is claiming to be the great mentor and first benefactor of someone and is saying that a good hint is all they need to figure out who the young man is. He provides the hint with the reference to the Flemish painter who was first a blacksmith.
Metaphysics speculative philosophy. The branch of philosophy that tries to explain the nature of being and reality, and the origin and structure of the universe. When Pip and Joe discuss Pip's feeling coarse and common at Miss Havisham's, Pip is speaking in abstract philosophical terms that are over Joe's head. Joe triumphs, however, by bringing the matter into simple realistic truths that even Pip concedes give him hope.
Mill Pond Bank, Chink's Basin; the Old Green Copper Rope-Walk these locations are likely fictitious. The last one means "the place where ropes used to be made out of oxidized copper wire." However, at this time, copper wire was not used in ropes yet. Another meaning is the long narrow shed or roofed over alley where ropemakers twisted hemp strands into rope.
Moses in the bullrushes . . . butter in a quantity of parsley the appearance of a bit of butter nestled in a quantity of parsley reminds Pip of the baby Moses hidden in the bullrushes to escape Pharaoh's soldiers. This is from the Bible, Exodus 2:3.
mount to the Woolsack or roof himself in with a mitre this reference is to Mr. Matthew Pocket's possible career choices when he was young — he could have become either a lawyer or clergyman. As a lawyer he could aspire to become Lord Chancellor of England and sit upon the Woolsack in the House of Lords. As a clergyman he could hope to become a bishop and wear a mitre (the British spelling of miter, which is the peaked hat worn by bishops).
mourning rings A custom at the time was to bequeath money to friends or relatives so that they could buy a ring to remember one by, usually inscribed with the initials of the deceased.
myrmidons of Justice this is a reference to Homer's Iliad. The Myrmidons were followers of Achilles. Here Pip simply means "policemen." He is afraid he will be arrested for fighting with the pale young gentleman at Miss Havisham's.
necromantic work book of black magic or sorcery.
Negro-head tobacco strong black tobacco sweetened with molasses and pressed into square cakes that was popular with sailors and workingmen.
no getting light by easy friction In the 1820s, sulfur matches, which produced a flame when rubbed on a rough surface, were invented. This was easy friction. In this story, flames to light candles are still produced the old way by striking a flint stone with a piece of steel and igniting a splinter of wood.
nosegays small bouquets of flowers, such as for carrying in the hand.
O Lady Fair a popular song of the time, written and set to music by the Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779–1852).
obtruded offered or forced upon others unasked.
Old Clem an early Pope, St. Clement (who died around the year 100), who was patron saint of blacksmiths. Blacksmiths sang this song about him.
one low-spirited dip-candle and no snuffers dip candles were cheap, quickly burning candles that smoked a lot from the long-burned wick they left. To avoid the smoke, the wicks needed to be trimmed with a special tool called snuffers. Pip indicates that it is hard to study at Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt's school even if you want to because the room is lit by only one of these candles, making a book hard to read.
ophthalmic steps ophthalmic means having to do with the eye in some way. The stranger in the Jolly Bargemen eyes Pip very closely and for some time. Pip does not recall anyone ever taking such ophthalmic steps with him, in other words, eyeing him so closely, before.
ostler a person who takes care of horses at an inn, stable, and so on.
outrunning the constable spending more money than you make.
over the broomstick a folk marriage ceremony, essentially one with no legal status. Because Estella's parents were married this way, she is illegitimate.
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.
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.
vestry a room in a church where the clergy put on their vestments and the sacred vessels are kept. Pip is scared and wants to tell someone about the convict on the marshes. One possibility he thinks of is to wait for the minister to announce the banns of marriage — that is when they announce upcoming marriages and ask if anyone has any objections — and at that moment stand up and ask for a private conference in the vestry. However because it is Christmas, no banns are announced and Pip has no opportunity for help from the Church.
walk all the way to London from Pip's home area, this was a distance of about twenty-six miles.
weazen an obsolete word for weasand, meaning throat.
went upon @'Change the floor of the Royal Exchange — the London Stock Market. Lloyd's, a marine insurance business at the time, operated from this building.
whist a card game that was the forerunner to bridge.
whitewash a mixture of lime, whiting, size, water, and so on for whitening walls. Whiting is a chalk-like material and sizing is similar to glue. It would have been the commonly used material for painting walls in Pip's time.
wine-cooper someone involved in the retail wine trade, especially making, repairing, or filling wine barrels. This was Wemmick's first trade, a far cry from his current legal work.
young person in bed-furniture the person's clothes appear to be made from the curtains off of a four-poster bed.
