Miko: annotations

The First Folio has a question mark here. The second quarto has a period. Modern editions are in disagreement about which to use.

The First Folio assigns these lines to Sir Oliver. It is assumed that they are intended for Touchstone.

exchange

as much as he is able

This phrase might be a reference to the Bishops' Ban of 1599. In that ban, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London signed orders that banned a variety of types of books, including works of satire. If it is indeed such a reference, that coincides well with estimates that the play was written in 1599.

A general purpose word for “offense”. In this case, the supposed offense is slander.

Celia means this word in the usual sense of someone who carries a message. In the next line, Touchstone intentionally uses a different sense of “messenger”, meaning an officer of the court who has the power to arrest someone. That meaning roughly makes sense (at least enough for a joke) because it was the duke who ordered him to fetch her.

bad

perjured, lied under oath

Literally, a whetstone is a stone used for sharpening knives. In this figurative sense, it is something for sharpening the wits. This is just the first time Touchstone challenges people to use their wits.