cocked hat

noun
1.
a man's hat, worn especially in the 18th century, having a wide, stiff brim turned up on two or three sides toward a peaked crown.
Compare bicorne, tricorne.
Idioms
2.
knock into a cocked hat, Informal. to destroy completely; render unachievable.
Origin
1665-75; cock2 + -ed2
British Dictionary definitions for knock into a cocked hat

cocked hat

noun
1.
a hat with opposing brims turned up and caught together in order to give two points (bicorn) or three points (tricorn)
2.
(slang) knock into a cocked hat, to outdo or defeat
Slang definitions & phrases for knock into a cocked hat

cocked hat

Related Terms

knock something into a cocked hat


Idioms and Phrases with knock into a cocked hat

knock into a cocked hat

Debunk, render useless or unbelievable. For example, His findings knocked our theory into a cocked hat. This expression alludes to a style of hat with the brim turned up on three sides—the three-cornered (tricorne) hat worn by officers in the American Revolution—giving it a distorted look. [ Early 1800s ]
Encyclopedia Article for knock into a cocked hat

cocked hat

bowling game played on a standard tenpin lane with three tenpins and a duckpin ball (4-5 inches [10-12.5 cm] in diameter). The pins are set 36 inches apart at the three corners of a normal tenpin formation. Two balls are allowed per frame, and scoring is as in tenpin bowling, except that 3 instead of 10 plus the total felled with the next two balls is the maximum score per frame. Thus, a perfect game is 90 instead of 300

Learn more about cocked hat with a free trial on Britannica.com