... by their beards, shall ye know them

Beards are funny things... I had one once... actually no, that's not true... since the hair grows more on the right side of my face than on the left, I had half a beard; I looked like I'd been caught in a particularly abrasive crosswind...

I'm not allowed a beard any more... The Wife won't let me, although occasionally I don't shave for a day or two as an act of rebellion... grrrr...

For those with less oppressed chins than mine, beards can be iconic. WG Grace's (and Mike Gatting's) Obelix belly/whiskers combination are virtually synonymous with the pre-cardiovascular days of cricket... Jerry Garcia's face-fro is the symbol of an entire generational movement who 'stuck it to the (presumably clean-shaven) man' by throwing down their razors and daaancing until the sun shone from every rainbow pore... ahem.