Hortensio’s remark, “Quick proceeders, marry!” seems straightforward enough. Marry is short for the Virgin Mary, a mild oath. So the remark could be read as “Holy cow, they’re proceeding down a romantic path quickly!”. But Hortensio is playing on Bianca’s “may you prove, sir, master of your art.” In the academic lingo of that period, one was said to “proceed” from a Bachelor of Arts degree to a Master of Arts. Similarly, one proceeds from being a bachelor to being a husband. And how do you do that? Hortensio provides the answer — you marry!