“Laughter is brightest where food is best” (“Laughter is gayest where the food is best”)

“Laughter is brightest where food is best” is a Irish proverb that has been printed on many images. “Ni geal an gaire ach san ait a mbionn an biadh. (Laughter is gayest where the food is best)” was cited in print in 1967. “Laughter is brightest where food is best”—with “brightest” replacing “gayest”—was cited in print in 1989.
 
     
Google Books
Short history of the Looby family, Ireland-Canada-USA
By Arthur R. Looby
Windsor, Ontario
1967
Pg. 61:
“Ni geal an gaire ach san ait a mbionn an biadh. (Laughter is gayest where the food is best)”.
 
8 March 1972, Daily Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME), pg. ?:
“Ni geal an gaire ach san ait a mbionn an biadh” is Irish for ‘Laughter is gayest where the food is best.”
 
Google News Archive
15 March 1978, Boca Raton (FL) News, “A touch o’ the green for St. Pat’s desserts,” pg. 1B, col. 1:
As they say in Ireland, “Laughter is gayest where the food is best.”
 
Google News Archive
15 March 1979, Victoria (TX) Advocate, “Irish Favorites Are Traditional St. Pat’s Fare,” pg. 1C, col. 1:
There’s an old Irish saying that laughter is gayest where the food is best.
 
Google News Archive
15 March 1989, The Times-News (Hendersonville, NC), pg. 1B, col. 2:
“Laughter is brightest where food is best.”—Irish proverb
 
Google Books
Celebrate!: Cookbook
By Sheila Lukins
New York, NY: Workman Pub.,
2003
Pg. 235:
Laughter is brightest where food is best” -Irish Proverb
 
Google Books
From Leah’s Kitchen:
The Gluten-Free Diet
By Leah Saban
Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse
2013
Pg. 82:
Laughter is brightest where food is best. - Irish Proverb
 
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1:33 PM - 27 Nov 2014