E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Gags,
in theatrical parlance, are interpolations. When Hamlet directs the players to say no more “than is set down,” he cautions them against indulgence in gags. (Hamlet, iii. 2.) (Dutch, gaggelen, to cackle. Compare Anglo-Saxon, geagl, the jaw.)
