Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke. Actus Primus, Scena Prima • Paragraph 701
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[Footnote II.46: _I know a hawk from a hern-shaw._] A hernshaw is a heron or hern. _To know a hawk from a hernshaw_ is an ancient proverb, sometimes corrupted into _handsaw_. Spencer quotes the proverb, as meaning, _wise enough to know the hawk from its game._]