The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (361 page)

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It is MERRY in hall when beards wag all
c
1300
King Alisaunder
(EETS) l. 1164
Swithe [so] mury hit is in halle, When the burdes wawen alle!
1546
Dialogue of Proverbs
II
. vii. 13
V
It is mery in halle, When berds wag all.
1598
Henry IV
,
Pt. 2
V
. iii. 35
Be merry, be merry, my wife has all … 'Tis merry in hall when beards wag all.
1738
Polite Conversation
II
. 170
Come; they say, 'Tis merry in Hall, when Beards wag all.
1857
Barchester Towers
III. iv.
‘'Twas merry in the hall when the beards wagged all;’ and the clerical beards wagged merrily .. that day.
1976
Treasury Alarm
i.
Presumably this is how the Treasury greybeards get their fun. Are they in fact grey-beared. One rather assumes a great wagging of beards:
'tis merry in hall when beards wag all
.
hospitality
;
merriment

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