Concealing Infidelity
In early usage of the term, a beard scenario involved concealing infidelity in a monogamous relationship.
In a typical scenario, X and Y are in a supposedly exclusive relationship, but X is actually cheating with Z. However, to prevent Y from learning about X's infidelity, W, the "beard", pretends to be paired with Z.
Such a scenario is a central premise of Woody Allen's 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose. The titular talent agent is the beard, pretending to date Tina, a single woman who is actually having an affair with married singer Lou Canova. By posing as Tina's date, Danny can bring her to Lou's performances without drawing attention from Lou's suspicious wife. The term "beard" is a running gag, used four times (e.g., "I'm only the beard") when Tina's relatives assume Danny is Tina's previously mysterious lover.
Read more about this topic: Beard (companion)
Famous quotes containing the words concealing and/or infidelity:
“There are no grades of vanity, there are only grades of ability in concealing it.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)