<< 2. my maidenhead at twelve year old: When the Nurse was twelve, her maidenhead was intact, and therefore worthy to be sworn by.
<< 3. ladybird: i.e., sweetheart. "Ladybird" was also a slang term for a prostitute.
<< 4. God forbid: God forbid there should be anything wrong, or perhaps God forbid I should call her "ladybird."
<< 10. pretty: as in "pretty important."
<< 17. Lammas-eve at night: the night of the day before Lammas.
<< 18. Susan: This must be the name of the Nurse's daughter.
<< 15. Lammas-tide: the days of the holiday of Lammas, which falls on August 1. fortnight: two weeks.
<< 26. wormwood: a bitter herb concoction. dug: breast.
<< 29. bear a brain: have a great memory.
<< 30. it: she (little Juliet). Very small children were often referred to as "it."
<< 31. fool: Here, a term of endearment.
<< 32. fall out with: begin a quarrel with.
<< 33. Shake, quoth the dove-house: "get out of here," said the dovecote. The dovecote probably said what it said by shaking in the eathquake the Nurse mentioned earlier. I trow: I know for sure.
<< 36. stand high-lone: stand upright alone. rood: cross.
<< 38. broke her brow: skinned her forehead [by falling on her face].
<< 42. fall backward: fall on your back [to make love]. hast more wit: are wiser.
<< 43. holidam: halidom, holiness. The word is derived from a phrase, "holy dame," for the Virgin Mary, but had no more religious meaning than "by heaven" does now.
<< 45. how a jest shall come about: how something spoken in jest comes true. The Nurse's husband asked little Juliet if she would fall on her back when she was wiser, and she—not understanding the sexual meaning of the question—answered "Aye." That was the jest; now the jest has "come about," because it's time for Juliet to start thinking about a husband, and falling on her back with him.
<< 48. stinted: ceased [crying].
<< 53. young cockerel's: young rooster's testicle.
<< 54. parlous knock: perilous bump (said with humorous exaggeration).
<< 58. say I: Juliet makes a pun on the Nurse's repeated use of the phrase "said 'Ay'."
<< 68. thy teat: the teat you sucked [the Nurse's]. The Nurse's joke is that Juliet couldn't have possibly gotten her wisdom from the Nurse's teat, because the Nurse knows herself to be a fool.
<< 72. much upon these years: at much the same age you are now.
<< 76. man of wax: i.e., handsome as a wax figure.
<< 83-84. Examine every married lineament, / And see how one another lends content: examine all the harmonious features of his face, and see how each one makes the others more attractive.
<< 86. margent: margin (which in early books frequently contained commentary on the adjacent text).
<< 87. unbound: Paris is "unbound" because he is single, not bound to a wife. Juliet's mother is also continuing her metaphor of Paris as a book, and now says that the book would be perfect if only it were bound within a cover. The cover she has in mind is Juliet, as wife of Paris.
<< 89. The fish lives in the sea: Juliet's mother is trying to sell the idea of marriage to Juliet. She argues that everything has its natural place: the fish lives in the sea, a cover goes with a book, and a woman lives with a husband. 'tis much pride / For fair without the fair within to hide: Now Juliet's mother argues that Juliet won't be diminished by being a wife. In her metaphor of the book, Juliet is the cover, and Paris is the pages, or the story on the pages, but Juliet's mother says that in the eyes of many, the book shares "the glory, / That in gold clasps locks in the golden story." (Fancy books would have little locks ("gold clasps"), like fancy diaries now (C.E. 2007).
<< 95. grow bigger: i.e., become pregnant.
<< 98. But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly: no more deep will I allow my eye to be pierced by the arrow of love than you allow.
<< 101-102. the nurse cursed in the pantry: She's being cursed because she is not there to help serve the supper.
<< 103. follow straight: come immediately.
<< 104. stays: waits [for you].
<< 105. seek happy nights to happy days: seek out happy nights (such as this one, with feasting, music, dancing, etc.) which lead to happy days (as a woman married to a rich and handsome man).