"is the worst well?"
Wordplay
Act 2,
Scene 4
Lines 107-109
Romeo
Nurse
Mercutio
Mercutio is making fun of the nurse’s choice of words. She should have said, “You speak well” instead of saying “You say well.” What Romeo literally said was the word “worse.” Mercutio asks if the word “worst” means well. Then, by asking “is the worst well?”, he acts as if the nurse has said something “well” taken, even wise.