# Shakespeare's Plays and Repetitiveness--Plus What's the Big Deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373 "2020-12-31T17:46:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/41 "2021-01-01T21:13:25Z")
We have mountains that have snow on them in August. Stay east of where you can see those and you should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/42 "2021-01-01T21:57:26Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I hadn’t realized until just now that “hock” meant specifically to pawn goods, and was different from the homophone “hawk,” which is selling goods in general. I thought it meant to suck phlegm into your throat and spit it out. That the people were spitting snot on each other during the play. Hock a loogie. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/43 "2021-01-01T23:29:28Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I thought it meant to suck phlegm into your throat and spit it out. That the people were spitting snot on each other during the play. Hock a loogie. I always thought that you hawk a loogie. [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) says “hawk” is the correct verb for loogies. Urban Dictionary says both are correct. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/44 "2021-01-01T23:36:31Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Shakespeare was an innovator, but not that much of an innovator. The first purpose-built theater in England was the Red Lion, built in 1567 when Shakespeare was three years old and Richard Burbage was a baby. As far as we know, it worked the same way as later theaters – you had to pay to get inside before you could see a play – and The Theatre, built in 1576 by Richard Burbage’s father James, _definitely_ worked that way. You are correct, I was confusing my Burbages. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/45 "2021-01-01T23:38:45Z")
True, most sources say both are correct, in the sense that both are used. (What’s “correct” in slang is a slippery concept.) But Google gives 6,870 results for “hawk a loogie” and 60,100 for “hock a loogie.” Similarly, it shows 42 results for “hawk a loogey” but 2,520 for “hock a loogey.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/46 "2021-01-08T21:43:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But Google gives 6,870 results for “hawk a loogie” and 60,100 for “hock a loogie. When I search “hawking”, I get links on coughing. When I search “hooking” I get links on hockey, fishing, and prostitution. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/47 "2021-01-08T22:00:36Z")
Ive always wondered if marc antony was the pompous little shit in real life that he was portrayed as in Julius Caesar ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2021, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/48 "2021-01-09T02:18:11Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Also, what is the big deal about Shakespeare? It’s like he is a god or something. He often has a unique way of expressing things. But not anymore so than anyone else. In my humble opinion at least. Here’s the master’s column on Shakespeare: [What’s so great about Shakespeare? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/21343738/what-s-so-great-about-shakespeare) ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373/49 "2021-01-12T05:12:07Z")
A brief thing from Bill Bryson’s book on Shakespeare (the one way he didn’t spell his name) on how no one sets scenes as brilliantly and concisely. The opening scene of Hamlet Barnardo: Who’s there? Francisco: Nay, answer me. Stand, and unfold yourself. Barnardo: Long live the King! Francisco: Barnardo? Barnardo: He. Five lines, 15 words, 11 of them monosyllabes Shakespeare establishes it is nighttime and cold (“unfold yourself “ means “draw back your cloak), the men are soldiers on guard and there is tension. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shakespeares-plays-and-repetitiveness-plus-whats-the-big-deal/929373.md?page=2)