How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
PEACHUM. I see. White gloves and a cane with an ivory handle and spats and patent-leather shoes and a charismatic personality and a scar… (1.1.200-202)
All of the descriptors Peachum throws out to describe Mac are like flashing neon signs that say, "This guy's fancy!" White gloves mean that he doesn't work or get dirty, and an ivory-handled cane indicates a healthy cha-ching factor. The last item on the list, though, the scar, is a hint that fancy appearances can hide danger.
Quote #5
MAC. Eating his fish with a knife! Anybody who does that is just a plain swine, do you get me, Jake? Think about it. (1.2.233-234)
These guys have stolen all the furniture in the house, and Mac gets onto them for, wait for it, their table manners. He compares his friend to a pig because he doesn't know how to eat fish properly. Ever heard of honor among thieves? Well, this is a sort of Emily Post version of it, where keeping up appearances at the table is important, no matter what kind of crimes you commit elsewhere.
Quote #6
MRS. PEACHUM. Married? First you rig her fore and aft in dresses and hats and gloves and parasols, and when she's cost as much as a sailing ship, she throws herself in the garbage like a rotten pickle. Are you really married? (1.3.7-10)
Mrs. Peachum compares her daughter, Polly, to a ship: "rig her fore and aft" means to get a ship ready with all the ropes it needs, back to front. Polly's fancy dresses and accessories were like a ship's rigging. They were supposed to keep her sailing, even in a storm. But she's gone and gotten married to the wrong guy, which takes her from expensive ship to rotten pickle in no time.