best adj. (sup.)

  best 
TR2.1163 Thĕrwíth shĕ lóugh, ănd séydĕ, “Gó wĕ dýnĕ.”
TR2.1164 Ănd hé găn át hy̆msélf tŏ jápĕ fástĕ,
TR2.1165 Ănd séydĕ, “Néce, Ĭ háve sŏ grét ă pýnĕ
TR2.1166 Fŏr lóve, thăt éverĭch óthĕr dáy Ĭ fástĕ –”
TR2.1167 Ănd gán hĭs béstĕ jápĕs fórth tŏ cástĕ,
TR2.1168 Ănd máde hĭre só tŏ láughe ăt hís fŏlýĕ,
TR2.1169 Thăt shé fŏr láughtĕr wéndĕ fór tŏ dýĕ.

Line Information

  • Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
  • English translation (Windeatt: 1998): At that she laughed and said: ‘Let’s have dinner.’ And he began to joke a lot at his own expense and said: ‘Niece, I suffer so much because of love that I fast every other day —’ and shot out his best jokes, and made her laugh so at his foolery that she thought she would die for laughing.
  • Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012): それを聞いて彼女は笑って言った。「お食事にしましょう。」すると彼はやたらに自嘲し始めて、言った。「姪よ、私は大変苦しんでいるのだ、恋のために。だから一日おきしか食べられないのだ⋯⋯」それから彼はこの上ない冗談を連発したので、彼女はそのナンセンスを耳にして大いに笑った。そのためおかしくて死ぬのではないかと思った。
  • Chinese translation (Fang: 1956): 她笑道，“我们吃饭去吧。”他就寻着自己的开心道，“甥女，我害了很重的相思病，每隔一天就不吃东西”—他妙趣横生，疯疯癫癫，弄得她大笑不止。

Word Information

  • Etymology: OE
  • Addresser: Narrator
  • Addressee: N/A
  • Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
  • Counterpart in its source (Fil): N/A
  • Noun(s) (NPs) modified: jest or joke (jokes)
  • Attributive/ Predicative: attributive

Information in Previous Studies

  • OED: Not quoted
  • MED: Not quoted
  • Commented in other previous works:
  • Windeatt (2003): N/A
  • Fisher (1989): N/A
  • Benson (1987): N/A
  • Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
  • Donaldson (1975): N/A
  • Baugh (1963): N/A

Possible Definitions

Of things, actions, conditions, etc.: best, most excellent or desirable, of highest quality, most advantageous;

Comments from the Editor

Pandarus forces Criseyde to accept Troilus’s letter and asks her to reply. Criseyde, however, changes the subject and suggests they have dinner. Pandarus’s response at once reveals his sense of humour and his rhetorical technique. He claims that since he suffers so much in love, he fasts every other day. This tactic not only keeps Criseyde on the topic of Troilus’s letter but also implies that if she does not write a reply, she will make Troilus suffer.