Learn 5 easy HAT idioms in English

Comrades, welcome to EngVid. Today, we will be discussing the hat. Hi. James, from EngVid.

I do want to talk about hats. I'm wearing a hat that goes with this shirt. Okay. But

I've got a couple of them because we're going to discuss idioms.

Now, Mr. E is here, of course. He's wearing a baseball cap. He's got, you know -- we call

them "granddad caps" in England, but they're "caps". You see people wearing them all the

time, this kind of a cap. Okay. Cowboy hat, badly drawn, but who cares? In the early 20th

century, people wore hats a lot, okay? So a lot of hat wearing. People would wear hats

everywhere -- church, whatever. Men would wear hats, so would ladies. But then, they

suddenly stopped. If you want to know the truth, it was around the 1960s from a president

named John F. Kennedy. He was seen often not wearing a hat, and he didn't wear an undershirt.

And after that, men starting changing their style. See? You don't just learn English.

We're going to teach you some history. He kind of changed fashion a little bit, for

men, for the next 40 to 50 -- well, 60 years. But now, hats are back. And it's time for

a hat idiom show, okay? Because now, you can say things. You'll be wearing your hat, and

you can say something stylish like, "I take off my hat for you." Okay? So let's go to

the board.

You'll see I have a couple of things written here -- well, five, to be exact. Okay? And

right now, you don't know what they mean, like, "without hesitation", "Be prepared for

something very physical", "Be prepared to be shocked", "give my respect", "I admire

them", "keep it a secret", and "have many responsibilities". And I'm sure you're saying,

"What does this have to do with hats?" Well, why don't I show you?

Ready? Now, "drop of a hat". When somebody says "at the drop of a hat", they mean "without hesitation.

At any time." I'm talking to you, and -- oops. It dropped again. You don't know. It means,

"Move now." If someone says, "You have to move at the drop of a hat", it means, "Don't

even think. Just go." Or it could happen at any time. "At the drop of a hat, the bus could

arrive." So you literally drop your hat; you look down; Whoa! The bus is gone. Just like

that. So "be prepared", okay?

What about this one? Have you ever been walking in the wind? It's really, really windy. See

this is flying. It's flying away like Superman's cape now. See, it's flying. Someone will say,

"Hold on to your hat!" Because it will blow away. Well, if you watch any movies, especially

Westerns or North American movies, they're always, like, "Hold on to your hat, son. Something's

going to happen." It's saying, "Be prepared to be shocked, or something's going to be

bad. Be prepared." Because it's going to be so physical or so amazing that the hat might

fly away, and you'll lose your hat. Remember, people were in the 20th century, so they wore

hats all the time everywhere. Now, we don't as much, so they don't say it as much, but

you're going to see that these idioms are going to come back simply because hats are

in style. All right? So, "Be ready to be shocked." Something will scare you, and your hat will

fly off your head. Or you're going to do something physical like run, and, "Hold on to your hat!

We've got to get going."

Now, how about this? "I give my respect" or, "I admire that person." If I were to see the

Queen right now, I would do this. Hat's off. Okay? When we say, "My hat it off" -- "hat's off"

Remember, this is from a long time ago. So when you say "hat's off to that person",

it's a sign of admiration. Many people, when they go into a church, if they're wearing

a hat, they will take their hats off as a sign of respect for the religion. Or, "My

hat is off for that guy." I take my hat off because I respect him, so I take it off. And

sometimes, people don't do that. What they do is this. You'll see it -- not as much,

but they go like this. That's like taking off the hat, so they do it short. And they

go like this, "Good morning, ma'am. Good morning, sir." They'll be like, "Good morning." Hat's

off to you. "I respect you" or, "You have my admiration" or, "I admire you."

And here's something. I know it's funny money -- whatever. But see this? I've got some money.

Don't tell anybody. Keep it a secret. When we say this, "Shh! Keep it under your hat"

-- "Keep it a secret." "Keep it a secret. Don't tell anybody." "Shh! Keep it under your

hat. Shh! Be quiet."

And here's the final one. You should like this. This will be fun for you. Are you ready?

"So it goes like this. Walking down the street, I saw -- I saw a beautiful woman, an absolutely

stunning, beautiful woman. I tell you, she was really incredible. I -- Captain, which

way to the ship?" Okay. I was wearing many hats. When somebody "wears many hats", we

say that they have many jobs or responsibilities. Each hat changes -- you noticed, as I changed

my accent for every hat, I changed personality. Well, sometimes, you know, you're a grandfather.

And it's different from being a pilot in World War II, fighting. Also, being a kid with snowballs

is not the same as a soldier who must defend his country, right? So when you "wear many

hats" in your job, it means you have many responsibilities. Maybe I'm the cleaner and

the computer guy. Maybe I do the editing. Anyway.

I hope this has been a -- well, an exciting experience for you as it is for me. I don't

get to act so much. Anyway. That is hats. My hat off to you. And Mr. E, who's still

deciding what he should do -- a kingdom for his hat. But will we learn about other idioms

besides hat idioms for, you know, conversation skills or grammar or vocabulary? I know the

place. You go to www.engvid.com, "eng" as in "English", "vid" as in "video", where -- I

mean, don't keep it under your hat. You've got to share this stuff, right? You can go

and learn these idioms and other idioms. And sharing is caring. Have a good day. I'll talk

to you soon.