▪ I. hat, n.
(hæt)
Forms: 1 hæt, hætt, 3–8 hatt(e, 6 (haitte, atte), 3– hat.
[OE. hæt, cognate with OFris. hat, north. Fris. hat, hatt, hood, head-covering; ON. hǫttr (genit. hattar, dat. hetti):—*hattuz, later nom. hattr, hood, cowl, turban, Sw. hatt, Da. hat, hatte- hat: cf. also Icel. hetta (:—*hatjôn-) hood. The OTeut. *hattuz goes back to earlier *hadn{uacu}s, from ablaut-series had-, hôd-, whence OE. hód hood. Cf. Lith. kůdas, kõdas tuft or crest of a bird.]
I. 1. A covering for the head; in recent use, generally distinguished from other head-gear, as a man's cap (or bonnet) and a woman's bonnet, by having a more or less horizontal brim all round the hemispherical, conical, or cylindrical part which covers the head. (But cylindrical ‘hats’ without brims are worn by some Orientals.) a. as worn by men.
| c 725 Corpus Gloss. 1318 Mitra, haet. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. x. §11 [He] bær hæt on his heafde. a 1300 Cursor M. 5314 On his heued a hatt he bar. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 120 He doffez his hatte. a 1400–50 Alexander 2981 Some in stele plates With hard hattes on þair heddez. 1484 Caxton Chivalry vi. 60 The hatte of steel or yron is gyuen to the knyght to sygnefye shamefastnes. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 81 He was commandyd to put of hys atte. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. i. 69 b, Wearing on their heads a hygh yealow hatte made after the fashion of a suger loofe. 1694 Wood Life 8 Oct. (O.H.S.) III. 469 Dr. Henry Aldrich..spoke against hatts turned up on one side. 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 29, I never admired a round hat, but with a large wig it is insupportable. 1879 Spon's Encycl. Indust. Arts 1102 The feature which distinguishes the ‘hat’ from other forms of head-dress is the possession of a brim. |
b. as worn by women.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 242 A wowyn quhyt hatt scho brassit on with all. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 44 Madinis..With quhyt hattis all browderit rycht brav[elie]. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 31 Some [hair], untuck'd, descended her sheaved hat. 1598 ― Merry W. iv. ii. 78 There's her thrum'd hat, and her muffler too. 1784 Cowper Task i. 536 In cloak of satin trimmed With lace, and hat with splendid riband bound. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley vii, ‘I want to finish trimming my hat’ (bonnet she meant). 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xx. i, The habit, hat and feather, Or the frock and gypsy bonnet..nothing can be sweeter Than maiden Maud in either. 1864 Sala in Daily Tel. 10 June, By the way, they call a lady's dress here [New York] a ‘robe’, and a bonnet a ‘hat’. 1881 Grant White Eng. Without & Within ii. 55 A bonnet has strings, and a hat has not. |
2. With qualifying words:
a. specifying the material, shape, or kind of hat, the place or occasion on which it is worn, etc.,
e.g. beaver,
felt,
silk,
straw hat;
high,
tall (
chimney-pot,
stove-pipe,
top)
hat, the ordinary cylindrical silk hat of the 19th c.;
opera,
tennis hat. See these words; also
billycock,
cocked, crush-hat, wide-awake, etc.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (1840) 105 Fyne felt hattes or spectacles to reede. 1540 Old City Acc. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. XLIII, iij straw hats. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xvi. 101 Covering their head with a felt hatte. 1837 C. Newton in Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 294 When the outer batt is considerably finer than the inner one, the retailer terms it a ‘plated hat’. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 64/1 There are three descriptions or qualities of hats made of wool, viz. beaver-hats, plate-hats, and felt-hats. Ibid., Silk-hats are composed of a form made of chip or of felt, and covered with woven silk plush or shag. 1839 H. Ainsworth Jack Sheppard i, He wore a three-cornered hat, a sandy-coloured scratch wig. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd (1889) 334 He now wears..a tall hat a⁓Sundays. 1886 Mrs. E. Kennard Girl in Brown Habit viii. (1888) 67 Sooner or later, hunting hats all meet with the same fate. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec. 8/1 The first high hat, it is said, was worn by John Hetherington, a haberdasher, who was in business on the Strand in London... It is to be remembered, however, that the beaver hat preceded the silk hat, and the modern top hat is only the successor of the hat with a sloping body commonly worn in the seventeenth century. |
b. With the name of some person known to have habitually worn or to have been represented in such a hat, or of some artist (Rubens, Gainsborough) fond of depicting such.
| 1889 N. F. Reddall Fact, Fancy, & Fable 309 He presented all of the refugees..with ‘Kossuth’ hats. 1890 Carmichael In God's Way iii. i. 127 A tall man in light clothes and with a Stanley hat on. 1891 Dobson Hogarth 100 A red-haired lady in a Pamela hat and white dress. 1891 E. Castle Consequences II. 259 A young woman..with a large black Rubens hat. 1893 G. Hill Hist. Eng. Dress II. 254 Anglesea hat with the bell-shaped crown. D'Orsay hat with ribbed silk binding and a large bow to the band. |
3. A head-dress showing the rank or dignity of the wearer;
esp. a cardinal's hat (see
cardinal n. III); whence
transf., the office or dignity of a cardinal; called also
red hat. More generally, any office, position, occupation;
esp. in
phr. to wear two hats, to hold two appointments concurrently;
wearing one's ― hat, in one's capacity as ―.
hat of estate, cap of estate (
Halliw.).
† hat of maintenance: see
maintenance.
| a 1352 Minot Poems (Hall) viii. 41 Cardinales with hattes rede. 1431 in Rogers Agric. & Prices III. 496/1 Fur to Mayor's hat. 1597–8 Bp. Hall Sat. v. iii. 85 The red hat that tries the luckless main. 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 150 Who..with dispensation from the Pope would resigne uppe their Hattes. 1690 Lond. Gaz. No. 2540/1 The Pope, in a publick Consistory, gave the Hats to nine of the new Cardinals. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Pope Innocent IV. first made the hat the symbol or cognizance of the cardinals, injoining them to wear a red hat, at all ceremonies and processions, as a token of their being ready to spill their blood for Jesus Christ. 1753 Scots Mag. Jan. 13/2 There are..fifteen hats vacant in the sacred college. 1850 Ld. Houghton in Reid Life (1890) I. 445 Wiseman proceeds to Rome to get his hat. 18.. Knight Crown Hist. Eng. 133 The pope bestowed on him the red hat. [1869 S. R. Hole Bk. about Roses viii. 111, I never remember to have seen a scientific botanist and a successful practical florist under the same hat.] 1884 G. B. Malleson Battle-Fields Germany viii. 229 The electoral hat of Brandenburg. 1961 Webster Hat, an office symbolized by or as if by the wearing of a special hat. 1963 Times 25 Apr. 13/7 They..would perform that precarious feat known in the Whitehall idiom as wearing two hats. 1965 Observer 31 Oct. 21/4 Even when he is wearing his ecumenical hat he is reported to be speaking as Archbishop of Canterbury. 1966 Rep. Comm. Inquiry Univ. Oxf. I. 27 Members of the colleges have accustomed themselves ‘to wear two hats’ and to act both as lecturers paid by the University and as fellows paid by their colleges. 1967 Even. Standard 29 Aug. 1/1 Wearing his new ‘economic overlord’ hat the Prime Minister summoned three key figures to Downing Street today. 1968 Listener 8 Feb. 177/2 Cecil Day-Lewis has two hats: one has laurel in it, the other is that of Nicholas Blake, who writes detective stories. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 17/5, I wear two hats. Are you asking me this question as president of the Bartenders Union or as chairman of the ABC? |
4. Felting, such as is used in felt hats.
| 1794 Sporting Mag. III. 193 Giving a preference to wadding made of hat. |
5. Phrases and locutions:
a. Referring to the custom of uncovering the head as a mark of reverence, courtesy, or salutation (often reduced to a momentary taking off, raising, or touching of the hat).
hat in hand, with the head uncovered in respect; obsequiously, servilely.
Cf. cap n.1 4 h.
to take off one's hat: to doff or remove the hat, as a sign of respect. Freq.
fig. Hence
hats off to.., as a command or exhortation.
| 1593 Donne Sat. i. (R.), That, when thou meet'st one..Dost search, and, like a needy broker, prize The silk and gold he wears, and to that rate, So high or low, dost raise thy formal hat. a 1659 Cleveland Poems, etc. (1677) 98 He is punctual in exacting your Hat. c 1660 Wood Life (O.H.S.) I. 299 The common civility of a hat. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 247, I..gave you my hat as I passed you. 1725 ― Voy. round World (1840) 97 The governor..gave them the compliment of his hat and leg. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair (1875) III. iii. 27 To compliment Mrs. Crawley..with a profound salute of the hat. 1851 ― Eng. Hum., Congreve (1858) 65 John Dennis was hat in hand to Mr. Congreve. 1856 Punch 5 Jan. 3/2 Quaker, a friend who..in the art of making inflammatory speeches, takes his hat off to no man. 1857 D. Livingstone Miss. Trav. viii. 272 This being the only hill we had seen since leaving the Bamangwato, we felt inclined to take off our hats to it. 1863 A. J. Munby Diary 7 Mar. in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 151 The populace..caught fire all at once. ‘Hats off!’ shouted the men: ‘Here she is!’ cried the women. 1881 Harper's Mag. Jan. 206/1 Over in Greenwood there is a stately monument, to the New York fireman,..before which I take off my hat. 1884 Black Jud. Shaks. v, Raising his hat and bowing. 1884 J. H. Ewing Mary's Meadow i. (1886) 12 The Scotch gardener touched his hat to me. 1886 Harper's Mag. June 45/2 We should take off our hats to them [sc. the ‘lady-bugs’] and wish them godspeed. 1923 Daily Mail 22 Jan. 6, I say in all sincerity: ‘Hats off to France!’ 1947 ‘P. Woodruff’ Wild Sweet Witch iv. 106, I take off my hat to that boy. 1972 M. Farhi Pleasure of your Death vii. 198 ‘Hats off to them.’ ‘Yes, of course. Hats off to all the dead.’ |
b. Referring to the collecting of money in a hat by street minstrels or similar performers: hence,
to send round the hat,
go round with the hat, etc., applied contemptuously to the collection of money by personal solicitation for charitable or benevolent purposes.
| 1857 [Remembered in colloquial use]. 1857 Kingsley Two Y. Ago I. v. 137 A little packet, containing not one five pound note, but four... The Mumpsimus men..had ‘sent round the hat’ for him. 1863 W. H. Goode Outposts of Zion xxi. 182 The hat for the collection was carried around by a hand disabled by a gunshot. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. (1882) 370 After passing round the hat in Europe and America. a 1878 C. J. Mathews in Daily News 11 Sept. (1894) 4/7 It was easy enough to make the hat go round, but the difficulty was to get any one to put anything in it. 1890 Fenn Lady Maude's Mania xxx. 331 Allow me to take round the hat for coppers. 1891 Morning Post 10 Jan. 4/6 Dispatching men to send round the hat in America. |
c. Miscellaneous phrases:
bad hat: a scape-grace.
black hat (Australian slang): a newly-arrived immigrant.
as black as (one's) hat: absolutely black.
by this hat, my hat to a halfpenny,
I'll bet a hat: common forms of asseveration.
a brick in (one's) hat (
U.S.): overcome with liquor.
(his) hat covers (his) family, etc.: said of one who is alone in the world, and has to provide only for himself.
hats to be disposed of: lives lost.
I'll eat my (old Rowley's) hat: an asseveration stating one's readiness to do this, if an event of which one is certain should not occur.
to hang one's hat: to take up one's quarters (in a certain place).
to hang one's hat on: to depend upon.
to hang up one's hat: see
hang v. 29 b.
to be in a (the) hat: to be in a fix.
to make a hat of, to make a mess of.
my hat!, a trivial exclamation of surprise.
to talk through one's hat: to make unsupported or ‘wild’ assertions, to talk nonsense.
to throw one's hat into the ring: to take up a challenge.
to throw up one's hat:
i.e. in token of joy;
cf. cap n.1 9.
under one's hat: secret, sub rosa. See also
high hat.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 563 My hat to a halfe-penie, Pompey prooues the best Worthie. 1598 ― Merry W. i. i. 173 By this hat, then he in the red face had it. 1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 95. 2/1 Three Stumps in her Head..as Black as my Hat. c 1758 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) IV. cccxxxv. 131 It is by no means a weak place; and I fear there will be many hats to be disposed of before it is taken. c 1825 Houlston Tracts II. xlviii. 11 With his face as black as your hat. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xlii, ‘If I knew as little of life as that, I'd eat my hat and swallow the buckle whole.’ 1847 Sporting Life V. 224/2 Warren threw his hat in the ring. 1848 Ibid. 1 Jan. 237/1 Curtis..threw his hat into the ring. 1849 Longfellow Kavanagh xxix, Her husband..often came home very late, ‘with a brick in his hat’, as Sally expressed it. 1854 Dickens Hard T. 141 They would say, ‘While my hat covers my family’..I have only one to feed. 1875 Trollope Prime Minister (1876) I. ii. xx. 335 Lopez can come in and hang up his hat whenever it pleases him. 1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) viii. 118 Why that's my preacher. I hang my hat on him every time. 1882 B. M. Croker Proper Pride III. i. 6 I'm in a most awful hat this time, and no mistake. 1882 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Daisies & B. II. 239 ‘Hat covers his family, don't it?’ ‘He has no one belonging to him I ever heard of.’ 1884 Besant Childr. Gibeon ii. xxxii, There are always bad hats in every family. 1885 C. M. Yonge Nuttie's Father I. xviii. 220 Nuttie..was taking in all these revelations with an open⁓eyed, silent horror... It was all under her hat, however, and the elder ladies never thought of her. 1887 R. M. Praed Longleat of Korralbyn xxviii. 277 I'd never let it be said that a black hat had cut me out. 1887 E. E. Money Litt. Dutch Maiden II. viii. 148 (Farmer) If you don't run up against him next day..you may eat your hat! 1887–9 T. A. Trollope What I remember III. 169 The man whose estate lies under his hat need never tremble before the frowns of fortune. 1888 N.Y. World 13 May 12/3 Dis is only a bluff dey're makin'—see! Dey're talkin' tru deir hats. 1897 T. M. Healy in Daily News 22 Jan. 3/3 The Irish farmer would throw up his hat on learning that hostilities had broken out. 1899 Kipling Stalky 174 My Hat!.. That's pretty average heroic. 1902 W. N. Harben Abner Daniel 81 All this talk about the devil makin' the bad an' the Lord the good is talk through a hat. 1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings vi. 117 The governor man had a bit of English under his hat, and when the music was choked off he says: ‘Ver-r-ree fine.’ 1904 N.Y. American 18 July 2 If the Tammany leader expects to hang his hat inside Judge Parker's political headquarters, he must come here voluntarily. 1912 Nation 7 Mar. 226/1 When Mr. Roosevelt threw his hat into the ring the other day, he gave the signal for a contest the like of which has not been seen before in this country. 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. viii. 661 ‘My hat, what a frowst,’ exclaimed Maurice. 1916 Chambers's Jrnl. May 302/2 Now, Joshua Billings, A.B., though officially a bad hat, was one of the best seamen in the ship. 1916 Chums 30 Sept. 37/2 I'm in no end of a hat, chauffeur. Can you give me a hand? 1917 W. J. Locke Red Planet xxiv. ‘You dashed young idiot,’ I cried, ‘do you think I'm in the habit of talking through my hat?’ 1923 Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xvii. 249 She kept it under her hat. She meant to spring it on me later, she said. 1925 J. Buchan John Macnab xv. 312 Palliser-Yeates lost at Glenraden..and now I've made a regular hat of things at Haripol. 1928 Observer 4 Mar. 11/2 Mr. Secretary Hoover has been forced to throw his hat into the ring for the Presidency, but he does not mean to follow it there. 1929 Galsworthy Roof iv, Mr. B. I suppose you think you never snore. Mrs. B. I know I don't. Mr. B. My hat! 1939 ‘A. Bridge’ Four-Part Setting 155 One couldn't just sit by and watch a person..make a complete hat of her life and herself and her character. 1945 M. Allingham Coroner's Pidgin xiv. 118 My hat! was it only last night? 1953 ‘N. Shute’ In Wet viii. 251 ‘Nothing about that in the papers, is there?’ ‘Not yet. Keep it under your hat.’ 1956 ‘A. Gilbert’ Death came Too xiv. 152 ‘You,’ suggested Frank, politely, ‘are talking through your hat.’ 1958 Daily Mail 6 Sept. 4/2 Some of them innocent hard⁓working people, others petty thieves and bad hats. 1963 N. Marsh Dead Water (1964) vi. 148 I'd be very grateful..if you'd keep the whole affair under your hat. |
d. Also, in contexts referring to the drawing of names from (or the putting of names into) a hat in selecting opponents in a competition, etc.; also with reference to the conjuring trick of producing a rabbit from a hat.
| 1929 Evening News 18 Nov. 13/2 Dagenham..will be amongst the distinguished clubs to go into the hat. 1958 Listener 18 Sept. 404/1 Mr. Dulles first pulled indirect aggression out of the hat in mid-July. 1963 A. Ross Australia 63 v. 110 Simpson's five [wickets] were simply out of the hat. 1966 H. Waugh Pure Poison (1967) xv. 93 He picked Roger out of a hat as a victim? 1971 J. M{supc}Clune Steam Pig ii. 26, I must say you've really pulled one out of the hat this time. |
II. In various technical uses.
6. a. The layer of tan-bark spread on the top of a pile of hides with interposed bark filling a tan-pit.
b. Metallurgy. A depression in the tunnel-head of a smelting furnace to detain the gases (Knight
Dict. Mech. 1875).
c. In
Soap-making: A depressed chamber in the bottom of a copper (see
quot. 1885).
| 1853 C. Morfit Tanning, etc. 208 When the skins have all been imbedded in the tan, they are to be covered with a six inch stratum of bark, technically termed the hat. 1885 W. L. Carpenter Soap & Candles vi. 156 The copper, provided with a ‘hat’..to receive impurities that subside. |
d. The creamy top of hatted kit.
| 1831 [see hatted ppl. a. c]. 1946 Farmhouse Fare (new ed.) 124 Hatted Kit..can..be made without milking the cow into it, although direct milking puts a better ‘hat’ on the Kit. 1952 F. White Good Eng. Food iv. ii. 180 Hatted Kit...fresh good butter-milk, and a pint of milk hot from the cow. Mix well by jumbling... It will now firm, and gather a hat. |
7. a. The pileus of a fungus.
| 1886 in Syd. Soc. Lex. 1887 Lancet 11 June 1215/2 Different parts of the mushroom contain more or less albumen, the ‘hat’..having twice as much as the stem. |
b. dial. A clump of trees.
| 1895 De Crespigny & Hutchinson New Forest 113 The term ‘hat’ is still in use for a little wood crowning a hill. 1895 G. Patterson in Jrnl. Amer. Folk-Lore VIII. 29 A hat of trees. 1936 C. R. Acton Sport & Sportsmen of New Forest ii. 43 A clump of trees is known as a ‘Hat’; two examples being ‘Crab Hat’ and ‘King's Hat’. |
III. attrib. and
Comb. 8. In sense: ‘Forming part of a hat’, as
hat-brim,
hat-crown,
hat-leaf,
hat-lining,
hat-plush,
hat-spring; ‘For supporting or holding hats’, as
hat-peg,
hat-pin,
hat-rail,
hat-securer,
hat-shelf,
hat-shop; also in other connexions.
| 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities i. ii, To..shake the wet out of his *hat-brim. |
| 1670 Cotton Espernon ii. viii. 402 Leaving an orifice bigger than a *Hat Crown. c 1813 Mrs. Sherwood Stories Ch. Catech. xvi. 142 Philip took a pair of scissars, and hid them in his hat-crown. |
| 1829 Blackw. Mag. XXVI. 76 The heavy shot..carrying off an entire whisker, a very small portion of ear, and a rather larger portion of *hat-leaf from the policeman. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xliii, To hang 'em up to their own *hat-pegs. |
| 1891 J. O. Hobbes Some Emotions 137 ‘Would you like that *hat-pin?’ she said. |
| 1888 Illustr. Lond. News Christm. No. 14/3 Steadying himself with one hand upon the *hat-rail of the [railway] carriage. |
| 1892 A. Conan Doyle in Strand Mag. III. 75/1 It was pierced in the brim for a *hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. |
| 1896 Daily News 21 Jan. 2/1 The programmes, and the *hat-shelves for the guests. |
| 1892 Howells Mercy 37 She had been one of the *hat-shop hands. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Hat-spring Maker, a manufacturer of springs for light opera or closing-up hats. |
| 1794 Sporting Mag. III. 193 It may be preferred to *hat-wadding. |
9. obj. and
obj. genitive, as
hat-bearer,
hat-dresser,
hat-dyer;
hat-doffing,
hat-raising,
hat-tipping,
hat-trimming,
hat-turning;
hat-sizing,
hat-wearing adjs. Also
hat-maker, -making.
| 1891 M. M. Dowie Girl in Karp. 216 Graceful *hat-doffings and hand-kissings. |
| 1640 Canterbury Marriage Licences (MS.), John Lewknor of Canterbury, *hat-dresser. |
| 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4580/4 Brian Thompson, of London, *Hat⁓dyer. |
| 1905 Westm. Gaz. 11 Aug. 7/1 At Trafalgar-square there was much *hat-raising. 1908 Ibid. 30 Jan. 12/2 The hat-raising habit. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §549 *Hat tip sizer, prints hat tip with size before gold leaf or bronze dust is applied by hat tip printer. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Index, *Hat trimmings. 1905 Daily Chron. 23 Dec. 6/5 The success of the hat-trimming competition. |
| 1848 J. G. Wilkinson Dalmatia, etc. I. 167 *Hat-wearing townspeople. |
10. Special combs.:
hat-body, the unshaped or partly shaped piece of felt from which a hat is formed;
hat-brush, a soft brush for brushing hats;
hat-card, a card worn in the ribbon of a hat by a partisan in sport or politics;
hat-check boy,
girl U.S., a cloakroom attendant;
† hat-commoner (see
quot.);
hat-conformator = conformator;
hat-die = hat-mould;
hat-frame (see
quot.);
hat-grip, a device for holding a hat on the head;
hat-guard, a string or cord to prevent a hat from being blown away;
hat-homage,
† -honour, reverence shown by removing the hat, a phrase in use among the early Quakers;
hat leather (see
quot. 1888);
hat-mould, the die on which a hat or bonnet is formed or shaped by pressing;
hat-pad, a pad usually of velvet for wiping the dust off or smoothing the nap of a hat;
hat-palm (also
chip-hat palm), a name for
Thrinax argentea and
Copernicia cerifera, the leaves of which are used for making hats;
hat-piece, (
a) a metal skull-cap worn under the hat as defensive armour; (
b) a coin of James VI on which the king is represented wearing a hat;
hat-plant, an East Indian plant (
æschynomene aspera) of the bean family, yielding a very tough pith which is made into hats, bottles, etc.;
hat-rack, (
a) a rack to hold hats; (
b)
slang, a scraggy animal; (
c)
slang, the head;
† hat-respect = hat-honour;
hat-roller (see
quot.);
hat-shag, woven silk plush for silk hats;
† hat-shaker;
hat-stand, a standing piece of furniture for hats to be hung on;
hat-string = hat-guard;
hat-tip, the circular piece of stuff used to line the crown of a hat;
hat-tree, (
a) a hat-stand with projecting arms for hats and coats; (
b)
Austral. (see
quot.);
† hat-worship = hat-homage. See also hat-band, -block, -box, etc.
| 1845 Penny Cycl. Suppl. I. 245/2 Very soft brushes, such as *hat-brushes. |
| 1892 Times 24 Nov. 8/4 *Hat-cards..were distributed and worn by hundreds on the polling day. |
| 1917 N.Y. Tribune 19 June 8/4 How about the *hat check boys? 1921 Wodehouse Indiscretions of Archie xiv. 159 He paid no attention to the hat-check boy. 1959 Guardian 22 Dec. 5/1 He found work as a hatcheck boy. |
| 1920 Wodehouse Jill the Reckless (1922) xv. 223 When a burglar marries a *hat-check girl, their offspring goes into the theatrical business automatically. 1938 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Sept. 572/4 He..has included all the important information..even to..the name of the hat-check girl in the New York restaurant. |
| 1803 Gradus ad Cantabr. (Farmer), *Hat Commoner, the son of a Nobleman, who wears the gown of a Fellow Commoner with a hat. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Hat-frame, cross-bars of wood placed round three or four dozen hats in sending them out for home sale. |
| 1896 B'ham Weekly Post 6 June 1/8 A *hat-grip which will make it possible to wear a straw hat in a gale of wind. |
| 1899 Catal. in A. Adburgham Shops & Shopping (1964) xxii. 261 *Hat guards. 1912 A. Bennett Matador 131 William Henry commanded her to buy a hat-guard. The hat-guard cost sixpence. |
| 1851 Dixon W. Penn vi. (1872) 50 *Hat-homage is our social creed. |
| 1669 Penn (title) No Cross, No Crown: or Several Sober Reasons against *Hat-Honour, Titular-Respects, You to a Single Person. 1677 G. Fox in Jrnl. (1852) II. 206 If this hat-honour, and shewing the bare head, be an invention of men, and not from God. |
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Hat leather, the leather ring packing used for hydraulic pistons. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 405/1 Hat-leather packing, an L-section leather ring, gripped between discs to form a piston, or similarly attached to the ram of a hydraulic machine to prevent leakage. |
| 1902 W. W. Jacobs Lady of Barge 221 At the hall he paused, and busied himself with the clothes⁓brush and *hat-pad. |
| 1885 A. Brassey The Trades x. 177 Sometimes called..the thatch-palm, and the *hat-palm. |
| 1599 in Pitcairn Crim. Trials Scotl. II. 99 False *hat-peiceis, pistulettis and crownis. |
| 1664–5 Pepys Diary 6 Mar., I saw him try on his buff coat and *hat-piece covered with black velvet. |
| 1872 Mark Twain Innoc. Abr. xxxi. 241 A sort of vestibule, where they used to keep the *hat-rack. 1935 Amer. Speech X. 269/1 If he should try to hang his hat on the hatrack he will probably find that he will have to catch it first, for the hatrack will be found milling about in one of the pens. Ibid. 271/1 Hatrack, an old, thin cow, a nellie or canner. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §121/56 Head,..hat rack. 1957 R. Campbell Portugal v. 73 One trick is to deprive a hatrack of an old horse of water, and let him have a good lick of salt. 1964 L. Hairston in J. H. Clarke Harlem 286 If you spent half as much time tryin' to put something inside that worthless hat-rack as you did having your brains fryed. |
| 1669 Penn No Cross ix. §25 Honour was from the Beginning, but *Hat-respects, and most Titles, are of late. |
| 1883 Gresley Coal Mining Gloss., *Hat Rollers, cast iron or steel rollers, shaped like a hat, revolving upon a vertical pin, for guiding incline hauling ropes round curves. |
| 1698 Post Man 12–14 Apr. (N. & Q.), Joseph Briant, a *Hatshaker. |
| 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. iv, The *hat-stand (with a whip or two standing up in it). 1892 F. M. Crawford Three Fates II. 162 There is no more romance about her than there is in a hatstand. |
| 1858 Thoreau Maine W. (1894) 118 Used for ornamental *hat-trees, together with deer's horns, in front entries. |
| 1898 Morris Austral Eng., Hat-tree, name given to a species of Sterculia, the Bottle-trees. |
| 1742 Note on Pope's Dunc. iv. 205 The *hatworship, as the Quakers call it, is an abomination to that sect. |
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N. Amer. colloq. (chiefly
Polit.).
to be all hat (and) no cattle: to have or cultivate an image or reputation which lacks substance or authenticity.
Cf. to be all mouth and (no) trousers at
mouth n. Phrases 1m.
Although the phrase is often cited as originating in Texas, there is little evidence to support this.
| 1980 Washington Post 30 Mar. d8/2 His obsession with 10-gallon headpieces recalled the Texan who was ‘all hat and no cattle’. 1981 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Apr. 9/1 One of the major raps against him was that he was all hat and no cattle. That is, he had a lot of style but not much substance. 1996 Oregonian (Nexis) 12 July b6 When it comes to politics, as they say in Texas, Perot is all hat, no cattle. 2003 P. Alexander Man of People viii. 226 When you run ads saying you are going to take care of Social Security, my friend, that's all hat and no cattle. |
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hat hair n. orig. U.S. (the condition of having) a disarranged,
esp. flattened head of hair caused by wearing a hat.
| 1981 Washington Post 10 May f3/1 Not only is hat-wearing inside a house impolite, but it makes the hair matted, she says, a condition she calls ‘*hat hair’. 1994 Minnesota Monthly May 22/2 On outdoor stories tracking polar bears, wolves, eagles..I get hat hair—winter stocking-cap hat hair is the worst. 2001 Mirror (Electronic ed.) 28 July How do you avoid the dreaded hat hair? ‘If your hair is long, make a ponytail very low down on the nape of your neck, then coil it into a chignon.’ |
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hat head n. orig. U.S. = hat hair n. at Additions.
| 1990Bitten by the Bug in rec.motorcycles (Usenet newsgroup) 27 Apr. How does one get to work in the morning without a severe case of ‘*hat-head’ from the helmet? 1997 M. Berry How to get there from Here 130 She has hat-head and the man in the corner is staring at her. She holds her hair down with both hands. 2000 Vanity Fair Dec. 360/1 ‘Do I have a hat head?’ he asked, smoothing his hair. |
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hatstand n. adj. slang (
orig. and chiefly
Brit.), eccentric, crazy, unhinged (chiefly in predicative use).
| 1987 Viz June 19 (heading) Roger Irrelevant. He's completely hat stand. 1995 Irish Times (Nexis) 22 Dec. 10 The album..ends in a demented, self effacing epitaph which comes poignantly close to autobiography. Completely and utterly hatstand. 1997 J-17 Oct. 107/1 Celebs do surreal feast and answer hat-stand questions. 2002 Mojo Feb. 106/4 Upwards At 45 Degrees pretty-much has it all,..climaxing with some throat-singing that's hatstand as March hares on poppers. |
▪ II. hat, v. [f. hat n.] a. trans. To cover with a hat; to furnish or provide with a hat. Also, to bestow the cardinal's hat upon.
| c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxxii. (1869) 121 Al be it I be mantelled and wel hatted. 1598 Florio, Incapellare..to hat one. 1852 W. Jerdan Autobiog. II. xiii. 164 We had..hatted and cloaked ourselves. 1885 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 31 July 1/6 The Pope..held a public consistory..at which the newly appointed Cardinals were hatted. 1891 A. Thomas That Affair I. x. 171 Miss Polthuan hats and veils herself. |
b. To place one's hat on (a seat) so as to claim it.
| 1886 Philad. Times 10 Apr. (Cent.), Twenty seats had..been hatted before noon to secure them for the debate. |
c. intr. To work alone. (
Cf. hatter n. 2.)
Austral.| 1891 Age 25 Nov. 6/7 (Morris), Two old miners have been..hatting for gold amongst the old alluvial gullies. 1900 H. Lawson On Track 88 And he ‘hatted’ and brooded over it till he went ratty. |
▪ III. hat obs. f. hate n. and v.,
hight v.,
hot a.;
obs. pa. tense
hit;
north. f. hote n. promise;
obs. var. of
at prep. and
rel. (
= that).