“Excommunication,” the exclusion of an offending member from any religious community, is a malapropism for “communication,” a noun that means the exchanging of information.

“Non-come,” a noun that signifies a state of bewilderment or insanity, is a malapropism for “nonplus,” a noun that means a state of perplexity or standstill.

Dogberry uses the noun “examination” rather than the verb “examine” because he is repeating Leonato’s earlier command to “take their examination.” This suggests that Dogberry does not actually know the meaning of this word.

“Suffigance,” a made up word, is a malapropism for “sufficient,” an adjective meaning of a quantity, extent, or scope adequate to a certain purpose.

Leonato does not take Dogberry seriously because of his demonstrated lack of education and tedious social behaviors. He is “now in great haste” because Dogberry has wasted so much time with idle talk.

“Aspicious,” a made up word, is a malapropism for either “suspicious,” an adjective meaning of questionable character, or “auspicious,” an adjective meaning ominous.

“Comprehended,” to understand, is a malapropism for “apprehended,” a verb meaning to arrest in the name of the law. Because these malapropisms are close in sound but not meaning, they could signify that Dogberry is illiterate: he is simply repeating what he has heard.

In this aside, Dogberry assumes that he and Leonato are in on the same joke: Verges is a simpleton who is not well educated. The irony in this joke is that to Leonato considers Dogberry to be just as simple as Verges. They are not equals laughing at the same person as Dogberry believes.

“Exclamation,” meaning the action of crying out in pain, anger, surprise, etc., is a malapropism for “acclamation,” an expression of praise or enthusiastic approval. Shakespeare includes these malapropisms to make Dogberry a comedic character at whom the audience can laugh. However, they are also moments that can mock members of the audience: if you do not catch the malapropism, then you are as ignorant and laughable as Dogberry.

Dogberry frequently speaks in proverbs and platitudes. Although he uses these references in order to demonstrate his “wisdom,” these sayings ironically demonstrate his lack of wit and thought because he does not have his own words to express these ideas.

Dogberry misinterprets the meaning of the word “tedious,” which means long and tiresome, as wealthy. Because he misinterprets the word, he also misses Leonato’s insult. This demonstrates an educational disconnect between the rich and the poor, which Shakespeare uses to create humor.

This exclamation by Leonato demonstrates his growing frustration with these two simpletons. This foreshadows that he will not take their information seriously when they finally get around to saying it.

The noun “Palabras” refers to words words, especially ones spoken in an unnecessary, profuse, or idle nature. Ironically, Dogberry uses this to chide Verges for his idle comparisons during a conversation in which he uses such language with Leonato.

“Odorous,” an adjective that means having a smell, is a malapropism for “odious,” an adjective that describes regarding with hatred.

Dogberry’s overly polite speech inserts delay into his speech and draws out his point. Rather than directly getting to what he needs to tell Leonato, he prolongs this conversation because he does not pick up on the social cues that should show him that Leonato does not want to talk to him. This indicates his naivety in social situations.

Throughout the scene, Dogberry says multiple malapropisms, or the mispronunciation or mistaken use of a word in place of the right word. These mistakes show that he is of the uneducated lower class. They give Leonato a reason to dismiss his concerns and the audience a reason to laugh at him.

The title Goodman (also, yeoman) is for a man just below the level of gentlemen. Think of a property and business owner or artisan (like Shakespeare's father, a glove maker) in the middle class.