Thanks to Flavorwire and The Towering Irrelevance, I was pleased to find out that in two chapters of White-Jacket (1850), his fifth novel, Herman Melville uses twenty-five different terms to describe beards. As one of the bearded, while I’ll accept any of the following, I would from now on like to have my facial hair described as “suburbs of the chin,” “whiskerandoes,” or “nodding harvests.” Thank you very much.
Herman Melville’s Beards…
the crop
suburbs of the chin
homeward-bounders
fly-brushes
long, trailing moss hanging from the bough of some aged oak
love-curls
Winnebago locks
carroty bunches
rebellious bristles
redundant mops
yellow bamboos
long whiskers
thrice-noble beards
plantations of hair
whiskerandoes
nodding harvests
viny locks
the fleece
fine tassels
goatees
imperials
sacred things
admiral’s pennant
manhood
muzzle-lashings
Thirty-Two Minutes 