Note to Hamlet, 5.1.137: "How absolute the knave is! we must speak by the card"

absolute: i.e., wittily precise.  —We have just had an example of the "absolute" quality of the gravedigger's comments; all of Hamlet's questions about who is to be buried in the grave are deemed wrong by the gravedigger because it's not a "who," but a "what" — the remains of a person — which are to be buried.  by the card: i.e., precisely. —The "card" in Hamlet's metaphor is a compass card, such as the one shown below. The needle of the compass is mounted in the center of the card.

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Old Compass Card Source: Wikipedia: Boxing the compass

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