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main sb.2: in the game of hazard, a number (from five to nine inclusive) called by the ‘caster’ before the dice are thrown; only fig. (cf. MAIN CHANCE) 1H4 IV. i. 47 “to set so rich a main On the nice hazard of one doubtful hour,” 2H6 I. i. 209 “look unto the main” (=the most important thing at stake).
A Shakespeare Glossary. C. T. Onions. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1911.

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  • Cross-references in text-specific dictionaries from this page (2):
    • William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry IV, 4.1
    • William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry VI, 1.1
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