| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,728,014,137 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
hat in hand |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
|
(with) hat in hand Fig. with humility. (Fig. on the image of someone standing, respectfully, in front of a powerful person, asking for a favor.) She stormed off but came back with hat in hand when she ran out of money. We had to go hat in hand to the committee to get a grant for our proposal. hat in hand also cap in hand with an attitude of respect for someone powerful The Secretary of Defense must go to Congress, hat in hand, to get approval to close military bases. Usage notes: said about someone who is hoping to get something they want Etymology: based on the custom of men removing their hats to show respect, and on the idea that people beg (ask for money) by holding out a hat How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| Idioms and phrases |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|