happy
“man be his dole!”
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, iii. 4.
63
; THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, i.
1. 135; THE WINTER'S TALE, i.
2. 163; 1 HENRY IV., ii. 2.
73. Means properly, “Let his share or lot be the title
‘happy man,’ or prove happiness.”
“It was, however, used as a general wish for good success in
a manner which makes it difficult to give it any literal construction; particularly as an
exclamation before a doubtful contest, where it seems equivalent to ‘Happy be he
who succeeds best.’”
Nares's Gloss. sub
“dole.”
Ray gives
“Happy man, happy dole, or Happy man by his dole.”
Proverbs, p. 116, ed.
1768.
A General Glossary to Shakespeare's Works. Alexander Dyce. Boston. Dana Estes and Company. 1904.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
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