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"odd"
Wordplay
Act 1,
Scene 3
Lines 16-19

An explanation of the wordplay on “odd” in Act 1, Scene 3 of myShakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Nurse

now to Lammas-tide?

Lady Capulet

A fortnight and odd days.

Nurse

Even or odd, of all days in the year,
Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen.

The Nurse frequently misinterprets the words of others and misuses her own as illustrated in this wordplay:

  • "Odd" can mean a few which is Lady Capulet's meaning: two weeks and a few days.
  • But the nurse humorously thinks that she's referring to an odd as opposed to an even number of days.