Name: ______Date: ______
Shakespearean Insult Sheet
A component of any feud is the insult!
DIRECTIONS: Shakespeare often made up his own words – especially when he wanted to create strong images. Many of these were used by characters to insult each other. Combineth one word or phrase from each column below and addeth “Thou” to the beginning. Make certain thou knowest the meaning of thy strong words, and thou shalt have the perfect insult! Let thyself go. Mix and match to find that perfect barb from the bard.
Column A Column B Column C
1. bawdy bunch-backed canker-blossom
2. brazen clay-brained clotpole
3. churlish dog-hearted crutch
4. distempered empty-hearted cutpurse
5. fitful evil-eyed dogfish
6. gnarling eye-offending egg-shell
7. greasy fat-kidneyed gull-catcher
8. grizzled heavy-headed hedge-pig
9. haughty horn-mad hempseed
10. hideous ill-breeding jack-a-nape
11. jaded ill-composed malkin
12. knavish ill-nurtured malignancy
13. lewd iron-witted malt-worm
14. peevish lean-witted manikin
15. pernicious lily-livered minimus
16. prating mad-bread miscreant
17. purpled motley-minded moldwarp
18. queasy muddy-mettled nut-hook
19. rank onion-eyed pantaloon
20. reeky pale-hearted rabbit-sucker
21. roynish paper-faced rampallion
22. saucy pinch-spotted remnant
23. sottish raw-boned rudesby
24. unmuzzled rug-headed ruffian
25. vacant rump-fed scantling
26. waggish shag-eared scullion
27. wanton shrill-gorged snipe
28. wenching sour-faced waterfly
29. whoreson weak-hinged whipster
30. yeasty white-livered younker
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Shakespearean Insult Definitions
Q
bawdy: lewd or obscene(offensive) talk or writing
brazen: bold and without shame
bunch-backed: having a bunch on the back; crooked.
canker-blossom: grub that destroys the blossom [of love]
churlish: a person of the lowest rank; rude
clay-brained: stupid
clotpole: stupid person; block head
crutch: a staff or support to assist a lame or infirm person; sign of old age
cutpurse: thief; a person who steals by cutting purses from the belt.
distempered: illness or disease; an ailment, in a bad mood, upset, disturbed
dog-hearted: inhuman; cruel
dogfish: ugly breed of fish
egg-shell: weak; to have no soul or yolk
empty-hearted: having no scruples, love, or soul
evil-eyed: a look or glance superstitiously supposed to have the power of inflicting harm or injury
eye-offending: ugly
fat-kidneyed: gross and lubberly
fitful: intermittently stopping and starting, not steady; irregular, occurs in outbursts
gnarling: growl or snarl
greasy: containing an unusual amount of grease or oil
grizzled: having dark hairs mixed with gray or white
gull-catcher: fool-trapper, trickster
haughty: having or showing arrogant(self-pride) superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
heavy-headed: dull; stupid
hedge-pig: hedgehog
hempseed: the seed of hemp, used as food for birds.
hideous: very ugly, offensive, shocking
horn-mad: furiously enraged; intensely angry
ill-breeding: badly brought up; lacking good manners
ill-composed: made up of wicked elements
ill-nurtured: ill-bred, badly brought up, lacking good manners
iron-witted: dull-witted, obtuse, dense
jack-a-nape: an impudent(careless), mischievous child.
jaded: worn out, exhausted
knavish: full of trickery
lean-witted: having but little sense or shrewdness.
lewd: vulgar, offensive, rude
lily-livered: cowardly; timid; easily frightened, weak
mad-bread: ?
malignancy: the state of being malignant or diseased., quality of being disposed to evil
malkin: an untidy(messy) woman; slattern.wench, drab, slut
malt-worm: drunkard
manikin: little man, puppet
minimus: very little, least tiniest of creatures, insignificant being
miscreant: a villain
moldwarp: mole [animal]
motley-minded: having a mind of a jester; foolish
muddy-mettled: dull-spirited
nut-hook: a bailiff/officer who hooks or seizes malefactors.
onion-eyed: having the eyes filled with tears
pale-hearted: dispirited; cowardly; craven
pantaloons: old man, foolish
paper-faced: having a face as white as paper, cowardly
peevish: irritable, annoying
pernicious: extremely harmful
pinch-spotted: discolored from having been pinched, as the skin.
prating: talking stupidly or about unimportant things for a long time
purpled: become or make purple in color:
queasy: a sick feeling in your stomach, feeling nausea(urge to vomit)
rabbit-sucker: a sucking rabbit; a young rabbit; a gull; a dupe(person easily fooled); a cony.
rampallion: a mean wretch, prostitute or evil person.
rank: very offensive in smell or taste
raw-boned: having little flesh, especially on a large-boned frame; gaunt, having a lean and bony physique
reeky: smelly
remnant: something left over; a remainder.
roynish: mangy; scabby; hence, mean; paltry; troublesome; crude, rough, conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
rudesby: a rude person
ruffian: brutal or cruel person, violent
rug-headed: having shaggy hair; shock-headed.
rump-fed: fattened in the rump, pampered
saucy: disrespectful
scantling: thin piece of timber; or a small amount
scullion: menial, lackey, domestic servant
shag-eared: having shaggy(hairy) ears.
shrill-gorged: having a throat which produces a shrill note.
snipe: [type of bird] dupe, gull, fool
sottish: given to excessive drinking
sour-faced: having a bad-tempered or unpleasant expression
unmuzzled: to remove a muzzle from (a dog, cat, etc.). Loud
vacant: empty, void of thought or knowledge (dumb)
waggish: mischievous; humorous; tricky
wanton: behave extremely cruelly and brutally
waterfly: insect that skips upon water without purpose or reason, and is thence the proper emblem of a busy trifler
weak-hinged: ill-balanced; ill-founded
wenching: causing mental or physical pain
whipster: wretch, degenerate, good-for-nothing
white-livered: easily frightened, cowardly
whoreson: insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous, basterd
yeasty: full of restless energy or creativity; insubstantial
younker: fashionable young man, fine young gentleman greenhorn, juvenile, prodigal child