hand someone his hat

hand someone his hat

English

Alternative forms

• give someone his hat

Pronunciation

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Verb

hand someone his hat (third-person singular simple present hands someone his hat, present participle handing someone his hat, simple past and past participle handed someone his hat)

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) To require someone to depart; to dismiss someone.
   • 1948 Nov. 27, Drew Pearson, "The Washington Merry-go-round," Ludington Daily News (US), p. 4 (retrieved 10 Nov 2015):

     McNeil replied, "It may have been Hitler who helped Chamberlain with his overcoat but don't forget it was the British people who handed him his hat."

   • 1972 July 25, Bob Considine, "Letter to Kremlin," Reading Eagle (US), p. 4 (retrieved 10 Nov 2015):

     You grew up under dictators who would have put people to the sword if they dared hand them their hats and invite them to buzz off.

   • 1984 Feb. 6, Mary McGrory, "Feldstein doggedly speaks his mind," Eugene Register-Guard (US), p. 15A (retrieved 10 Nov 2015):

     The President's men, nonetheless, view him the way the Vatican saw Galileo—as a dangerous heretic. . . . They would hand him his hat if they dared.

Usage notes

• Sometimes used in the alternative passive voice forms: have one's hat handed to one or get one's hat handed to one.

Synonyms

• expel, kick out, send someone packing, throw out